REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Genitourinary Oncology
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1655082
This article is part of the Research TopicTheragnostics in Nuclear MedicineView all articles
PSMA-based theranostics in diagnosing and treating prostate cancer in the Asian male population: a narrative review
Provisionally accepted
Feng Liu1,2
Chang Ge2Bingzhang Qiao2Zubeila Aihemaiti2Zhao Li2Weijie Zhang2Abudureheman Zebibula2,3Mulati Rexiati2,3*- 1Department of Urology, The Central Hospital of Shaoyang and Shaoyang Hospital Affiliated to University of South China, Shaoyang, China
- 2Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
- 3Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
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Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a protein primarily overexpressed on the surface of prostate cancer (PCa) cells, making it a key target for PSMA-based theranostics, which combine diagnostic imaging and therapy. PSMA-based molecular probes, conjugated tracers and isotopes, and multifunctional imaging technologies have significantly advanced the landscape of high-risk PCa management, particularly during initial diagnosis and treatment planning. This tool is especially crucial as the ratio of mortality to incidence of PCa in Asian populations is higher, and the overall prognosis is significantly worse compared to Western countries. Furthermore, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening using multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and pathological examination shows that only a small percentage of men (below 30%) with PSA levels between 4-10 ng/ml in China, considered low risk, actually test positive for PCa when biopsied. Therefore, PSMA ligand-based positron emission tomography (PET) has been increasingly utilized for the accurate diagnosis, clinical staging, dynamic monitoring, treatment guidance, and prognosis evaluation of PCa. Moreover, PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy (RLT), antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapy, cellular immunotherapy, photodynamic therapy (PDT), and photothermal therapy (PTT), along with PSMA radioguided surgery (PSMA-RGS) intervention, have shown substantial advantages and promising potential. The field of PSMA ligands in PCa management has seen remarkable advancements in recent years, impacting both diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. This review discusses and summarizes the recent research progress and application prospects of PSMA-based theranostics in the clinical management of PCa in Asian populations.
Keywords: prostate cancer, prostate-specific membrane antigen, positron emission tomography, theranostics, Radioligand Therapy
Received: 27 Jun 2025; Accepted: 19 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Ge, Qiao, Aihemaiti, Li, Zhang, Zebibula and Rexiati. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mulati Rexiati, Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
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