AUTHOR=Zhou Shuoming , Liu Tiantian , Zhu Ziqiang , Zhang Lin , Qian Subo , Fu Hongliang , Cao Qifeng , Kang Jian 

TITLE=18F-DCFPyL PET/CT in Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer: Diagnostic Value of Intraprostatic PSMA Uptake in Risk Classification of Prostate Cancer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2022.800904

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2022.800904

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=Abstract
Purpose: 18F-DCFPyL prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT is commonly applied to locate lesions of prostate cancer (PCa), but its diagnostic function of quantitative parameters is ignored. Our study evaluates parameters of intraprostatic PSMA uptake in patients newly diagnosed with PCa and explores the predictive value of them in risk classification, which is similar to D’Amico criteria.
Materials and Methods: We quantified the maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax), mean SUV (SUVmean), total lesion (TL)-PSMA, prostate/muscle (P/M) ratio of the primary tumor, and PSMA-derived tumor volume (PSMA-TV) from 62 patients with histologically proven PCa. Patients newly diagnosed with PCa were allocated into risk groups (at low, intermediate, and high risk, respectively) in accordance with D’Amico criteria. Afterwards, the five parameters mentioned above among three different risk groups were compared, and the predictive values of them in the risk classification of PCa were explored.
Results: Significantly decreased levels of SUVmax, SUVmean, TL-PSMA, and P/M ratio were observed in risk groups of low or intermediate or both, compared with the high-risk group. However, only P/M ratio significantly elevated in patients with intermediate risk (46.58±9.74,[45.27];P=0.042) or high risk (98.95±38.83,[97.52];P＜0.001), compared with low-risk patients (mean±SD,[median];12.33±5.93,[9.81]). When P/M ratio was used to distinguish between low-risk and intermediate-risk patients, its c-statistics was 0.660. While when distinguishing between intermediate-risk and high-risk groups, the c-statistics of P/M ratio was 0.667. Finally, when P/M ratio was used to distinguish between low-risk and high-risk patients, the c-statistics was 0.969. P/M ratio had positive correlation with prostate-specific antigen in all enrolled PCa patients.
Conclusion: The quantitative parameters of 18F-DCFPyL PET/CT, including SUVmax, SUVmean, and P/M ratio, might assist in distinguishing low-risk or intermediate-risk groups from high-risk group. Of these parameters, P/M ratio appears to be the better promising parameter for risk classification of prostate cancer than SUVmax.

Key Words:
Prostate Cancer, PSMA PET/CT, Intraprostatic PSMA Uptake, Risk Classification