Detection of failure patterns using advanced imaging in patients with biochemical recurrence following low-dose-rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer.

This study describes the pattern of failure in patients with biochemical (BCR) recurrence after low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy as a component of definitive treatment for prostate cancer.

Patients with BCR after LDR brachytherapy ± external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) were enrolled on prospective IRB approved advanced imaging protocols. Patients underwent 3T multiparametric MRI (mpMRI); a subset underwent prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-based PET/CT. Pathologic confirmation was obtained unless contraindicated.

Between January 2011 and April 2021, 51 patients with BCR after brachytherapy (n = 36) or brachytherapy + EBRT (n = 15) underwent mpMRI and were included in this analysis. Of 38 patients with available dosimetry, only two had D90<90%. The prostate and seminal vesicles were a site of failure in 66.7% (n = 34) and 39.2% (n = 20), respectively. PET/CT (n = 32 patients) more often identified lesions pelvic lymph nodes (50%; n = 16) and distant metastases (18.8%; n = 6), than mpMRI. Isolated nodal disease (9.8%; n = 5) and distant metastases (n = 1) without local recurrence were uncommon. Recurrence within the prostate was located in the transition zone in 48.5%, central or midline in 45.5%, and anterior in 36.4% of patients.

In this cohort of patients with BCR after LDR brachytherapy ± EBRT, the predominant recurrence pattern was local (prostate ± seminal vesicles) with frequent occurrence in the anterior prostate and transition zone. mpMRI and PSMA PET/CT provided complementary information to localize sites of recurrence, with PSMA PET/CT often confirming mpMRI findings and identifying occult nodal or distant metastases.

Brachytherapy. 2022 May 03 [Epub ahead of print]

Kilian E Salerno, Baris Turkbey, Liza Lindenberg, Esther Mena, Erica E Schott, Alexandra K Brennan, Soumyajit Roy, Uma Shankavaram, Krishnan Patel, Theresa Cooley-Zgela, Yolanda McKinney, Bradford J Wood, Peter A Pinto, Peter Choyke, Deborah E Citrin

Radiation Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD., Molecular Imaging Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD., Radiation Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; Department of Radiation Oncology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL., Center for Interventional Oncology, NIH Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD., Urologic Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD., Radiation Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. Electronic address: .