Influence of (11)C-choline PET/CT on the treatment planning for salvage radiation therapy in patients with biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer - Abstract

Nuklearmedizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Technische Universität München, Germany.

 

The present study evaluates the incidence of (11)C-choline PET/CT positive findings in patients with recurrent prostate cancer referred for salvage radiotherapy (SRT) and the influence on the definition of the planning target volume (PTV).

Thirty-seven patients treated with radical prostatectomy and referred to SRT to the prostatic fossa because of biochemical relapse, were analysed retrospectively. All patients underwent (11)C-choline PET/CT before radiotherapy. The influence of PET/CT on the extent of the PTV was analysed. The median total follow up after SRT was 51.2months.

11/37 (30%) patients had a positive finding in the (11)C-choline PET/CT, 5 (13%) outside of the prostatic fossa (iliac lymph nodes), implicating an extension of the PTV. Patients with positive (11)C-choline PET/CT had a significant higher PSA value than patients with no pathologic uptake (p=0.03). Overall, at the end of follow up 56% of the patients had a PSA⩽0.2ng/ml and 44% had a biochemical relapse of prostate cancer.

(11)C-choline PET/CT detects abnormalities outside of the prostatic fossa in 13% of patients referred for SRT because of biochemical relapse after radical prostatectomy, affecting the extent of the PTV. Prospective studies need to be implemented to evaluate the benefit of SRT with a PTV based on (11)C-choline PET/CT.

Written by:
Souvatzoglou M, Krause BJ, Pürschel A, Thamm R, Schuster T, Buck AK, Zimmermann F, Molls M, Schwaiger M, Geinitz H.   Are you the author?

Reference: Radiother Oncol. 2011 May;99(2):193-200.
doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2011.05.005

PubMed Abstract
PMID: 21620494

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