Early Detection Of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the number two cause of cancer death among American men. A report shows that, in patients who have received definitive local therapy, prostate cancer recur in 21% of them. Treatment for recurrent prostate cancer are based on whether the disease is localized or includes distant metastases. However the presence of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) or rising PSA has proven the most effective way to detect recurrent prostate cancer. When imaging techniques have not proven particularly reliable, the researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine tested 11C-acetate PET scans to determine their sensitivity in identifying recurrent disease and to compare the sensitivity of these scans to 18F-FDG PET scans.

The research involved 46 prostate cancer patients who had been treated by prostatectomy or by radiation, and who all had detectable serum PSA. Every patients were subjected to both imaging procedures. 11C-acetate PET scans had higher positive findings overall. 11C-acetate PET was more sensitive than 18F-FDG PET. This research paves the way for future investigation of the utility of 11C-acetate PET in early relapse detection.