Dr. Declan G. Murphy describes the background of PSMA PET/CT in prostate cancer
Murphy shares the backstory of how PSMA PET/CT imaging has emerged as a major advancement in the prostate cancer armamentarium.
Declan G. Murphy, MB BCh, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Victoria, Australia, discusses the development of PSMA PET/CT in prostate cancer. Murphy says PSMA as a molecule has been of interest for many years, as it is overexpressed in aggressive cancers, particularly in castration-resistant prostate cancer.
In the past 5 to 6 years, imaging agents have been developed that identify this overexpression of PSMA. Murphy says the “major breakthrough” was the development by German research groups of a “small ligand that can be used in a PET scanner to identify PSMA in a quite strikingly sensitive and specific manner.”
The FDA approved Gallium (Ga) 68 PSMA-1 in December 2020 as the first drug for PET imaging of PSMA-positive lesions in men with prostate cancer. Murphy was the senior author of the phase 3 proPSMA study, which examined Ga 68 PSMA-1 in patients with high-risk prostate cancer before curative-intent surgery. The study demonstrated that Ga 68 PSMA-1 had better accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity than convention imaging.
Study finds disparities in management of mCSPC
April 17th 2024“These findings suggest that guideline recommended treatment intensification remains low for patients with mCSPC in both Medicare and the Veterans Health Administration, but especially for Black patients,” says Daniel J. George, MD.
