Application value of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in newly diagnosed prostatic cancer patients / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the value of 68Ga-prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-11 PET/CT in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients with different risk stratifications, and to compare the performance of this modality with conventional imaging in detecting metastases. Methods:From June 2019 to July 2020, the clinical and imaging data of 60 patients (age range 44-88 years, median age 69 years) who underwent 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT imaging in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were retrospectively analyzed. Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation of SUV max in primary foci with prostate specific antigen (PSA) and Gleason score (GS). Based on the D′Amico risk stratification (PSA>20 μg/L and ≤20 μg/L, GS>7 and ≤7), the detection rates of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT for metastases were evaluated by χ2 test, and the differences of SUV max were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test. Patients were divided into high-risk (PSA>20 μg/L and GS>7), medium-risk (PSA>20 μg/L and GS≤7, or PSA≤20 μg/L and GS>7), and low-risk (PSA<20 μg/L and GS<7) groups according to PSA levels and GS. Compared with conventional imaging (bone imaging, CT or MRI), the ability of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT to detect metastatic tumors, and the utility to change the prostate cancer stage were evaluated by Fisher′s exact test. Results:High uptake of 68Ga-PSMA-11 was observed in primary lesions of 60 patients, and SUV max was positively correlated with GS or PSA ( rs values 0.42, 0.38; P values 0.001, 0.002). The detection rates of lymph node and bone metastases in the group with PSA>20 μg/L were 11/18 and 13/18, respectively, which were higher than those in the group with PSA≤20 μg/L (28.57%(12/42) and 35.71%(15/42); χ2 values 6.56, 7.56, P values 0.010, 0.006. However, there was no statistical significance in the SUV max of these lesions( z values -1.04, -0.96; P values 0.299, 0.337). There was a statistical difference in the detection rates of lymph node and bone metastases between the group with GS>7 and the group with GS≤7 (lymph node 54.05%(20/37) vs 13.04%(3/23), χ2=10.09, P=0.001; bone metastases 59.46%(22/37) vs 26.09%(6/23), χ2=8.19, P=0.004), as well as the SUV max of bone metastases( z=-2.02, P=0.044). In the high-risk group, 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT had the higher detection rate of metastases than conventional imaging (16/17 vs 10/17; P=0.039) and it changed 25.0%(15/60) of the patients′ staging. Conclusions:PSA and GS affect the detection rate of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT. In patients with high-risk prostate cancer, 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT is superior to conventional imaging in detecting metastases. When PSA>20 μg/L and GS>7, it is better to use 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in prostate cancer staging.