Update on fused capromab pendetide imaging of prostate cancer

The primary objective of this overview is to apprise clinical urologists and oncologists of the current state of fused multimodality imaging of prostate cancer, which can be applied to optimize treatment by ensuring that a patient's disease is characterized as well as current imaging technology permits. The focus of this study is the monoclonal antibody capromab pendetide, which targets prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a type II membrane glycoprotein strongly associated with prostate cancer. Identifying where capromab pendetide uptake occurs can be done accurately if this functional imaging modality is combined with a modality that provides anatomic detail, such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Image fusion, or coregistration, which is overlaying the functional images of capromab pendetide uptake on the anatomic CT or MRI images, provides a detailed map of cancer localization inside and outside the prostate gland. This same principle of fusing functional images on anatomic images is the basis for enormous growth of positron emission tomography with CT during the past 2 years. Positron emission tomography imaging has a different functionality base than does capromab pendetide, and thus the 2 modalities should be complementary. However, the key to both functional imaging modalities is accurate fusion with anatomic images, which is illustrated in our case reports. The cases cited demonstrate the need to optimize every phase of imaging from patient preparation to reading and reporting increased PSMA concentration seen on the fused images. Reference is also made to applying capromab pendetide/CT fused imaging to radiation therapy planning.