Treatment Response Imaging in Prostate Cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiology
• Nuclear Medicine

Background:

• Objective criteria for prostate cancer treatment response are crucial for research and clinical practice.
• The Prostate Cancer Working Group 3 (PCWG3) criteria, based on conventional imaging, are widely adopted.
• Prostate-specific membrane antigen PET/computed tomography (PSMA PET/CT) shows superiority over conventional imaging in diagnosis and recurrence detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current criteria for assessing treatment response in prostate cancer using conventional and advanced molecular imaging.
• To explore the evolving role of PSMA PET/CT in treatment response assessment.
• To discuss future perspectives in post-therapy imaging for prostate cancer.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies on prostate cancer treatment response criteria.
• Analysis of criteria used with conventional imaging (e.g., CT, MRI).
• Evaluation of criteria for advanced molecular imaging, particularly PSMA PET/CT.

Main Results:

• Conventional imaging criteria (PCWG3) are established but may be limited.
• PSMA PET/CT demonstrates higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting prostate cancer recurrence and assessing treatment response.
• Emerging evidence supports PSMA PET/CT as a valuable tool for monitoring treatment effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• PSMA PET/CT is increasingly important for evaluating treatment response in prostate cancer.
• Future research should focus on standardizing PSMA PET/CT criteria for treatment response assessment.
• Advanced molecular imaging offers a more precise approach to post-therapy monitoring in prostate cancer.