Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2019 Jul;37(7):1239-1249.
doi: 10.1007/s00345-018-2403-7. Epub 2018 Jul 12.

The utility of PET-based imaging for prostate cancer biochemical recurrence: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Niranjan J Sathianathen  1 , Mohit Butaney  2 , Badrinath R Konety  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The utility of PET-based imaging for prostate cancer biochemical recurrence: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Niranjan J Sathianathen et al. World J Urol. 2019 Jul.

Abstract

Introduction: Conventional imaging modalities have been poor in characterizing the true extent of disease in men with biochemical recurrence following primary treatment for prostate cancer. Functional imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) has shown promise of being a superior imaging modality. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to define the diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT using 11C-choline, 18F-FACBC, or 68Ga-PSMA in detecting recurrent prostate cancer.

Methods: We searched multiple databases in line with the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement to define the diagnostic accuracy of 11C-choline, 18F-FACBC, or 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT. Only studies secondarily staging participants with biochemical recurrence and those with an appropriate reference standard (pathology, further imaging, and/or clinical response) were eligible for analysis.

Results: Twenty-one studies with 3202 participants met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 11C-choline, 18F-FACBC, and 68Ga-PSMA were the tracer investigated in 16, 5, and 1 studies, respectively. The summary sensitivity for each tracer was 80.9% (95% CI 70.4-88.3%), 79.7% (95% CI 51.9-93.4%), and 76.4% (95% CI 68.3-82.9%), respectively. The corresponding summary specificity was 84.1% (95% CI 70.2-92.2%), 61.9% (95% CI 41.1-79.0%), and 99.8% (95% CI 97.5-100%), respectively. Detection rates ranged between 58.6 and 82.8%. All included studies were judged to be at high risk of bias primarily due to study limitations pertaining to the reference standard.

Conclusion: There is a lack of high-quality data to verify the accuracy of PET-based imaging using 11C-choline, 18F-FACBC, or 68Ga-PSMA. The early results are encouraging that these techniques are superior to conventional imaging modalities, which would allow salvage therapies to be optimized.

Keywords: Cancer staging; Positron emission tomography; Prostate cancer; Systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. J Urol. 2003 Apr;169(4):1337-40 - PubMed
    1. Urology. 2003 Mar;61(3):607-11 - PubMed
    1. Eur Urol. 2003 Jul;44(1):32-8; discussion 38-9 - PubMed
    1. BMJ. 2003 Sep 6;327(7414):557-60 - PubMed
    1. BJU Int. 2004 Aug;94(3):299-302 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources