{"id":334826,"date":"2026-02-13T05:28:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T05:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/334826\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T05:28:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T05:28:07","slug":"how-can-psma-pet-ct-scans-help-guide-recurrent-prostate-cancer-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/334826\/","title":{"rendered":"How can PSMA PET\/CT scans help guide recurrent prostate cancer treatment?"},"content":{"rendered":"

PSMA PET\/CT scans predict progression-free survival and guide personalized treatment strategies for recurring prostate cancer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA, CA, USA) have reported insights into the role of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET\/CT scans in guiding treatment for prostate cancer patients with rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels following after radical prostatectomy. Led by John Nikitas and published in the latest issue of\u00a0JNCCN<\/a>, the study highlights PSMA PET\/CT\u2019s ability to refine treatment strategies for recurrent prostate cancer.<\/p>\n

The challenge of prostate cancer recurrence<\/p>\n

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, with 20\u201340% of patients experiencing biochemical recurrence within 10 years of radical prostatectomy. Salvage radiotherapy (sRT) to the prostate bed is the standard treatment and is recommended when prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels are 0.1 to 0.2. However, conventional imaging modalities, such as CT and MRI, have limited sensitivity for detecting recurrent disease at low PSA levels (<1 ng\/mL), often leading to generalized treatment approaches. PSMA PET\/CT offers enhanced sensitivity, enabling precise targeting of PSMA-avid disease and more personalized therapy.<\/p>\n

Key study results<\/p>\n

This study analyzed data from 113 patients treated at the \u00a0UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center between 2016 and 2021. All patients underwent PSMA PET\/CT scans within 3 months of undergoing sRT and had at least 24 months of follow-up. The results were striking: patients with no visible disease (T0N0M0) had the most favorable progression-free survival (PFS), with whole-pelvis radiotherapy showing no significant benefit compared to prostate bed radiotherapy alone. Whereas those with local visible disease (TrN0M0) benefited significantly from whole-pelvis radiotherapy. For patients with nodal or distant metastases (N1\/M1), androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) was associated with improved PFS.<\/p>\n

\u201cPSMA PET\/CT allows us to move beyond one-size-fits-all radiation therapy to treatment tailored to the anatomy and biology of each patient\u2019s cancer,\u201d explained Nikitas. \u201cThis approach not only improves outcomes but also reduces unnecessary side effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Potential clinical impact<\/p>\n

The 5-year outcomes underscore the impact of PSMA PET\/CT-guided sRT. At 5 years, approximately three-quarters of patients were free from distant metastasis (72.4%), and nearly all were alive (overall survival was 97.1% at 5 years). Despite its promise, the study highlights challenges in accessibility and implementation. PSMA PET\/CT scans are not yet universally available, and their integration into clinical practice requires significant resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis research highlights the importance of facilitating routine PSMA PET\/CT scans in patients with a biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer after surgery to remove the prostate gland,\u201d said Nikitas. \u201cThe information from these scans is strongly associated with long-term outcomes and frequently changes treatment recommendations. We found that other measures, like PSA levels, were\u00a0not strongly associated with long-term response to secondary\/salvage therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expert commentary on the treatment landscape<\/p>\n

An accompanying commentary<\/a> by Edward Christopher Dee and co-authors (all Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY, USA), emphasizes the transformative potential of PSMA PET\/CT in prostate cancer care. \u201cThis study shows that seeing where the cancer is, even at low PSA levels, may meaningfully shape treatment decisions and could potentially influence long-term outcomes,\u201d Dee noted. \u201cIt\u2019s a step forward in making prostate cancer care more precise and effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

These findings highlight the potential of PSMA PET\/CT to improve long-term outcomes for patients with recurrent prostate cancer. However, equitable access to PSMA PET\/CT technology remains a critical challenge. Collaboration among healthcare providers, policymakers and researchers is essential to transition this breakthrough from clinical innovation to a sustainable standard of care, transforming outcomes for patients with recurrent prostate cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PSMA PET\/CT scans predict progression-free survival and guide personalized treatment strategies for recurring prostate cancer. Researchers at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334827,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[78],"tags":[18,135,19,17,34181,159600,20980,55365],"class_list":["post-334826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-eire","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-psa","tag-psma","tag-psma-pet-ct","tag-recurrence"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116061674097413628","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}