(Press-News.org) Reston, Va. (August 20, 2015) - A molecular imaging biomarker is able to detect fast-growing primary prostate cancer and distinguish it from benign prostate lesions, addressing an unmet clinical need. The new research, published in the July 2015 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, is significant for patients with suspected prostate cancer that has not been confirmed by standard biopsy.
"We were able to demonstrate in our research that PSMA PET imaging was more specific than MR imaging for detection of clinically significant high-grade prostate cancer lesions, and importantly was able to distinguish benign prostate lesions from primary prostate cancer, currently a difficult diagnostic imaging task," stated Steven P. Rowe, MD, PhD, resident at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Md. "Additionally, this work demonstrated a direct correlation between PSMA PET radiotracer activity in prostate cancer and prostate adenocarcinoma aggressiveness (Gleason score)."
The study enrolled 13 patients with primary prostate cancer who were imaged with F-18 DCFBC PET prior to scheduled prostatectomy, with 12 of the patients also undergoing pelvic prostate MR imaging. Prostate 18F-DCFBC PET was correlated with MR imaging and histologic and immunohistochemical analysis on a prostate-segment (12 regions) and dominant-lesion basis. There were no incidental extraprostatic findings on PET suggestive of metastatic disease.
Results showed that MR imaging was more sensitive than 18F-DCFBC PET for detection of primary prostate cancer in a per-segment (sensitivities of 0.17 and 0.39 for PET and MR imaging, respectively) and per-dominant (sensitivities of 0.46 and 0.92 for PET and MR imaging, respectively) lesion analysis. However, 18F-DCFBC PET was more specific than MR imaging by per-segment analysis (specificity of 0.96 and 0.89 for PET and MR imaging for non-stringent analysis and 1.00 versus 0.91 for stringent analysis, respectively) and highly specific for detection of high-grade lesions greater than or equal to 1.1 mL in size (Gleason 8 and 9).
Steve Y. Cho, MD, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and senior corresponding author of this study, states that the findings contribute to the importance of PSMA-based PET imaging for detection and characterization of the biology of the prostate cancer. "There are a number of PSMA-based PET agents currently being introduced into prostate cancer imaging, many with improved signal to background uptake and sensitivity from this earlier first-generation PSMA 18F-DCFBC PET radiotracer, which should further improve the detection of prostate cancer," he continues. "While it is difficult to predict which of the numerous prostate cancer molecular imaging agents being developed will ultimately become clinically adopted, this work, in aggregate with that of other groups, suggests there are important advantages to the PSMA ligands for prostate cancer molecular imaging."
Aside from skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer among men in the United States, according to 2014 statistics from the American Cancer Society. About 233,000 new cases of prostate cancer are expected to be diagnosed and about 29,480 prostate-cancer related deaths are estimated this year.
INFORMATION:
Authors of the article 18F-DCFBC PET/CT for PSMA-based Detection and Characterization of Primary Prostate Cancer" include Steven P. Rowe, Kenneth L. Gage, Katarzyna Macura, Amanda Blackford, Daniel Holt, Robert F. Dannals, Martin A. Lodge, Ronnie C. Mease, Martin G. Pomper, and Steve Y. Cho, The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science; Sheila F. Faraj, Toby C. Cornish, Nilda Gonzalez-Roibon, Gunes Guner, Enrico Munari, and George J. Netto, Department of Pathology; and Alan W. Partin, Christian P. Pavlovich, Misop Han, H. Ballentine Carter, and Trinity J. Bivalacqua, The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute and Department of Urology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD. This study was funded through the Prostate Cancer Foundation and RSNA Research and Education Foundation.
Please visit the SNMMI Media Center to view the PDF of the study, including images, and more information about molecular imaging and personalized medicine. To schedule an interview with the researchers, please contact Kimberly Brown (703) 652-6773 or kbrown@snmmi.org. Current and past issues of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine can be found online at http://jnm.snmjournals.org.
About the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to raising public awareness about nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, a vital element of today's medical practice that adds an additional dimension to diagnosis, changing the way common and devastating diseases are understood and treated and helping provide patients with the best health care possible.
SNMMI's more than 17,000 members set the standard for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine practice by creating guidelines, sharing information through journals and meetings and leading advocacy on key issues that affect molecular imaging and therapy research and practice. For more information, visit http://www.snmmi.org.
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 20 -- A first-of-its-kind, nationally representative study of siblings supports previously published research on unrelated individuals that links specific genotypes to educational attainment among adults in their mid-20s to early 30s. The research, published today in AERA Open, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association, found that, within families, an adolescent with a higher "polygenic score"--which summarizes previously identified genome-wide associations for educational attainment--than her or his sibling tended ...
Summary: The ideal management strategy for primary cardiogenic shock is a matter of debate. After some early discouraging experiences, the use of extracorporeal life support for patients with cardiogenic shock is having a resurgence. A report from researchers in Padua, Italy finds that patients who have an acute onset of cardiogenic shock, for example following a heart attack, and are placed on extracorporeal life support, fare better than those who have a chronic cardiac pathology. In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Vivek Rao of the University of Toronto puts the findings ...
Virginia Tech researchers have identified a biomarker in pre-diabetic individuals that could help prevent them from developing Type II diabetes.
Publishing in Clinical Epigenetics, the researchers discovered that pre-diabetic people who were considered to be insulin resistant -- unable to respond to the hormone insulin effectively -- also had altered mitochondrial DNA.
Researchers made the connection by analyzing blood samples taken from 40 participants enrolled in the diaBEAT-it program, a long-term study run by multiple researchers in the Fralin Translational Obesity ...
(BOSTON) - Last year, a Wyss Institute team of scientists described the development of a new device to treat sepsis that works by mimicking our spleen. It cleanses pathogens and toxins from blood circulating through a dialysis-like circuit. Now, the Wyss Institute team has developed an improved device that synergizes with conventional antibiotic therapies and that has been streamlined to better position it for near-term translation to the clinic. The improved design is described in the October volume 67 of Biomaterials.
Sepsis is a common and frequently fatal medical ...
Having a baby at home can save thousands of dollars over a hospital birth and is just as safe for low-risk births, according to a new UBC study.
Researchers with UBC's School of Population and Public Health and the Child and Family Research Institute looked at all planned home births attended by registered midwives in B.C. between 2001 and 2004. They compared them to planned hospital births attended by registered midwives or physicians in which the mothers met the criteria for home birth.
For the first 28 days postpartum, they found planned home births saved an average ...
Amsterdam, August 20, 2015 - A new study published in Journal of Transport & Health reveals that middle-aged drivers are at higher risk of crashes because they use their cellphone regularly while driving. The research reveals that most drivers admit to using their cellphones regularly while driving, even with children in the car; drivers also feel pressured to answer work calls while driving.
The authors of the study, from the University of California San Diego, are now working with companies to teach employees about the risks associated with distracted driving, and show ...
TORONTO, Aug. 20, 2015--A new study has found a "significant association" between adults who have suffered a traumatic brain injury at some point in their lives and who also have attention deficit hyperactive disorder.
The study, published today in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, supports research that found a similar association in children, said Dr. Gabriela Ilie, lead author of the study and a post-doctoral fellow at St. Michael's Hospital.
The data used in the adult study was collected by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's Monitor, a continuous, cross-sectional ...
Oxford, August 20, 2015 - Researchers in China have developed tiny nanocrystals that could be used in the next generation of medical imaging technologies to light up cancer cells. In a study published in the inaugural issue of the journal Applied Materials Today, a new rapid, online only publication, the team of researchers describe how they make these films which are based on the heavy metals lanthanum and europium.
Dr. Yaping Du of Xi'an Jiaotong University, China, and colleagues have developed a way to make high-quality nanocrystals of lanthanide oxybromides, where ...
NEW YORK, NY - Patients with scoliosis who undergo surgery may be less likely to develop an infection or other complications after the procedure when a novel wound closure technique pioneered at NYU Langone Medical Center is utilized, according to new research. The study was published online this past July in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics.
In this new technique, surgeons use a multilayered flap closure that enables doctors to close several layers of muscle and fascia while maintaining blood supply from the donor site to the recipient site. The researchers believe ...
Post-discharge disease management provided in their own homes could be a cost-effective alternative for recently-hospitalised elderly patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).
Just published in the International Journal of Cardiology, this is the finding of a recent economic evaluation conducted by Griffith University using data from a randomised controlled trial (The WHICH Study).
In collaboration with the Australian Catholic University, 280 patients with CHF recruited from three public hospitals, received multidisciplinary disease management.
With the aim of reducing ...
