LUGPA 2025 CME Enduring Program: Operationalizing the Science -Translating New Concepts into Clinical Practice-2025 CME Program Part 6

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. Stephen Rowe, a professor at UT Southwestern and pioneer in PSMA PET imaging, discussed the interpretation and clinical implications of PSMA PET scans in prostate cancer. He emphasized that PSMA PET is significantly superior to traditional imaging like CT and bone scans, especially for detecting pelvic lymph node involvement and biochemical recurrence. Sensitivity varies with disease volume and PSA levels, but specificity remains high, making positive findings reliable. Different FDA-approved PSMA radiotracers have unique characteristics affecting their interpretation. PSMA PET aids in guiding metastasis-directed therapy and selecting patients for targeted radioligand therapy, improving treatment outcomes with manageable toxicities. However, interpretation challenges include distinguishing true positives from benign uptake and recognizing PSMA-negative neuroendocrine variants. Emerging uses include using PSMA PET as a biomarker and integrating AI to enhance lesion detection. Despite advances, Dr. Rowe highlighted the need for standardized interpretation methods and further validation to optimize clinical utility. In short, "if it's orange on the PET-CT, it's bad," signifying malignancy.

Keywords

PSMA PET imaging

prostate cancer

pelvic lymph node detection

biochemical recurrence

radioligand therapy

AI in lesion detection