Update on18F-fluciclovine PET for prostate cancer imaging

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging method that can exploit various aspects of tumor biology to enable greater detection of prostate cancer than can be provided by morphologic imaging alone. Anti-1-amino-3-[18F]-flurocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid (18F-fluciclovine) is a non-naturally occurring amino acid PET radiotracer that is recently United States Food and Drug Administration approved for detection of suspected recurrent prostate cancer. The tumor imaging features of this radiotracer mirror the upregulation of transmembrane amino acid transport that occurs in prostate cancer due to increased amino acid metabolism for energy and protein synthesis. This continuing medical education article provides an overview on18F-fluciclovine PET diagnostic capabilities for primary and metastatic disease, including reviews of published comparisons to conventional imaging and other molecular imaging agents. Additionally, imaging procedure and interpretation is detailed including physiologic and pathologic uptake patterns and pitfalls.

Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine. 2018 Mar 09 [Epub ahead of print]

Ephraim E Parent, David M Schuster

Emory University School of Medicine, United States.