Disparities in PET Imaging for Prostate Cancer at a Tertiary Academic Medical Center

The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences between patients receiving ¹⁸F-fluciclovine and ⁶⁸Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen (⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11) for biochemically recurrent prostate cancer at a tertiary medical center. Methods: All ¹⁸F-fluciclovine and ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 PET studies performed at the University of California San Francisco from October 2015 to January 2020 were reviewed. Age, race/ethnicity, primary language, body mass index, insurance type, and home address were obtained through the electronic medical record. A logistic regression model was used to evaluate the predictor variables. Results: In total, 1,502 patients received ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 and 254 patients received ¹⁸F-fluciclovine. Black patients had increased odds of receiving imaging with ¹⁸F-fluciclovine versus ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 compared with non-Hispanic White patients (odds ratio, 3.88; 95% CI, 1.90-7.91). There were no other statistically significant differences. Conclusion: In patients receiving molecular imaging for prostate cancer at a single U.S. tertiary medical center, access to ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 for Black patients was limited, compared with non-Hispanic White patients, by a factor of nearly 4.