[68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT for staging and patient management of high-risk prostate cancer: A single-center experience from Iran

Introduction: Accurate staging plays an important role in management of patients with prostate cancer especially in high-risk group. Today, [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT should be considered as the preferred imaging tool for treatment planning and initial staging of the disease. Methods: A total number of 628 patients with prostate cancer referred to Razavi hospital nuclear medicine department between March 2016 and December 2019. Among 103 patients in initial staging category, 23 cases met our inclusion criteria and entered the study. All patients performed CT scan or MRI accompanied with bone scintigraphy before [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT.The scan results were compared with conventional imaging and their treatment plan determined before and after performing[68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT. Results: The detection rate of [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT was superior to CT/MRI in local lymph node involvements (56.5% to 21.7%), as well as for distant metastases (47.83% to 13%). The scan findings lead to upstaging in 9 patients and down staging in 4 patients.[68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT results changes the therapeutic plan in 13 patients (56.5%). Conclusion: [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CTis a promising imaging tool for initial staging of high-risk prostate cancer patients with significant higher detection rate in comparison to the conventional imaging. The study showed 56.5% changes in treatment planning following [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT study.