The Emerging Role of Next-Generation Imaging in Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in men in developed countries and a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Effective methods for diagnosing and staging PCa are necessary to guide treatment options in a personalized manner. The purpose of this paper is to review recent advances in molecular imaging and therapeutics and their expanding role in imaging and treating PCa.

Compared with conventional imaging, PSMA PET has proven more accurate at detecting PCa in patients with newly diagnosed PCa or biochemically recurrent PCa. PSMA PET can also induce management changes in patients due to its superior accuracy in detecting metastatic disease. Further research is necessary to understand the appropriate role of PSMA PET in patients with known metastatic PCa and the impact on clinical outcomes in patients who undergo treatment planning using findings from PSMA PET. We review the role of molecular imaging in primary and biochemically recurrent PCa. We find that molecular imaging is effective in detecting PCa and may lead to management changes.