PSMA-ligand PET for early castration-resistant prostate cancer: a retrospective single-center study

The low detection rate of conventional imaging and unspecific fluctuations in prostate-specific antigen can hamper early diagnosis of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). We thus assessed the value of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT in the detection of early CRPC (prostate-specific antigen ≤ 3 ng/mL). Methods: We identified 55 patients with early CRPC from our institutional database. PSMA PET/CT and its CT component were interpreted independently by 3 masked readers. The primary endpoint was the per-patient detection rate; secondary endpoints were interobserver agreement and predictors of PET positivity. Results: PSMA PET/CT was positive in 41 of 55 (75%) patients. Sixteen of 55 (29%) patients had local disease only, and 25 of 55 (45%) had M1 disease. Overall, PSMA PET/CT interobserver agreement was substantial by Landis and Koch criteria (Fleiss κ = 0.77). Conclusion: PSMA PET/CT localized prostate cancer lesions in 75% of patients and M1 disease in 45%. Detection of early CRPC facilitates disease-delaying therapies for local or oligometastatic disease. PSMA PET/CT is of value in early CRPC and should be included in the CRPC entry criteria of the European Association of Urology and Prostate Cancer Working Group 3.