PET Imaging for Prostate Cancer.

The role of PET imaging with 11C-choline and 18F-fluciclovine in evaluating patients with prostate cancer (PCa) has become more important over the years and has been incorporated into the NCCN guidelines. A new generation of PET radiotracers targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is widely used outside the United States to evaluate patients with primary PCa and PCa recurrence. PET imaging influences treatment planning and demonstrates a significantly higher disease detection rate than conventional imaging such as computed tomography and MR imaging. Early data indicate that using PET radiotracers such as 18F-fluciclovine and PSMA improves patient outcomes. 68-Ga-PSMA-11 and 18F-DCFPyL-PET/CT were recently approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical use. Other PSMA radiotracers, including fluorinated variants, will likely gain FDA approval in the not-too-distant future.