ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Accurate early assessment of biochemical recurrence is essential in determining the correct treatment plan for patients with prostate cancer. Gallium-68-prostate-specific membrane antigen-11 (68Ga-PSMA-11) targeting PSMA has been at the forefront of imaging in biochemical recurrence however the emergence of fluorine-18 (18F)-PSMA-1007 may prove to be advantageous over the 68Ga-PSMA-11 molecule due to its physical and physiologic al attributes. The aim of our study was to assess the diagnostic performance of 18F-PSMA-1007 as compared to that of 68Ga-PSMA-11 in the same patients who presented with biochemical recurrence. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-one patients with biochemical recurrence prostate cancer were prospectively enrolled into the study. Fluorine-18-PSMA-1007 positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) was performed on the same patient after 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT had been performed. Recurrence diagnosed on each of these studies was compared against a final diagnosis based on clinical follow-up and histological correlation where available. RESULTS: Gallium-68-PSMA-11 identified fifteen (71,4%) patients as being negative for recurrence whilst five (23.8%) were identified as positive and one (4.8%) as uncertain. In comparison 18F-PSMA-1007 identified eight (38.1%) as being positive with thirteen (61.9%) patients' scans identified as negative for recurrence. No scans were classified as uncertain for the 18F-PSMA-1007 group. Fluorine-18-PSMA-1007 identified 8 lesions as positive for disease recurrence whilst only 6 lesions were identified on 68Ga-PSMA-11. Of the 8 patients identified as having recurrence on 18F-PSMA-1007 4 of those demonstrated local prostatic recurrence. The rest demonstrated local nodal recurrence and skeletal metastases. Fluorine-18-PSMA-1007 demonstrated a sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of 88.9%, 100%, 100%, and 92.3% respectively whilst 68Ga-PSMA-11 demonstrated a sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of 44.4%, 83.3%, 80%, and 66.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION: In our pilot study 18F-PSMA-1007 was able to detect more sites of recurrence as compared to 68Ga-PSMA-11 which were mainly within the prostate and surrounding pelvic structures.
