¹⁸F-DCFBC PET/CT for PSMA-based detection and characterization of primary prostate cancer

We previously demonstrated the ability to detect metastatic prostate cancer using N-[N-[(S)-1,3-dicarboxypropyl]carbamoyl]- 4-18F-fluorobenzyl-L-cysteine (18F-DCFBC), a low-molecular-weight radiotracer that targets the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). PSMA has been shown to be associated with higher Gleason grade and more aggressive disease. An imaging biomarker able to detect clinically significant high-grade primary prostate cancer reliably would address an unmet clinical need by allowing for riskadapted patient management. Methods: We enrolled 13 patients with primary prostate cancer who were imaged with ¹⁸F-DCFBC PET before scheduled prostatectomy, with 12 of these patients also undergoing pelvic prostate MR imaging. Prostate ¹⁸F-DCFBC PET was correlated with MR imaging and histologic and immunohistochemical analysis on a prostate-segment (12 regions) and dominantlesion basis. There were no incidental extraprostatic findings on PET suggestive of metastatic disease. Results: MR imaging was more sensitive than ¹⁸F-DCFBC PET for detection of primary prostate cancer on a per-segment (sensitivities of up to 0.17 and 0.39 for PET and MR imaging, respectively) and per-dominant-lesion analysis (sensitivities of 0.46 and 0.92 for PET and MR imaging, respectively). However, ¹⁸F-DCFBC PET was more specific than MR imaging by per-segment analysis (specificities of 0.96 and 0.89 for PET and MR imaging for corresponding sensitivity, respectively) and specific for detection of high-grade lesions (Gleason 8 and 9) greater than 1.0 mL in size (4/4 of these patients positive by PET). ¹⁸F-DCFBC uptake in tumors was positively correlated with Gleason score (r 5 0.64; PSMA expression, r 5 0.47; and prostate-specific antigen, r 5 0.52). There was significantly lower ¹⁸F-DCFBC uptake in benign prostatic hypertrophy than primary tumors (median maximum standardized uptake value, 2.2 vs. 3.5; P 5 0.004). Conclusion: Although the sensitivity of ¹⁸F-DCFBC for primary prostate cancer was less than MR imaging, ¹⁸F-DCFBC PET was able to detect the more clinically significant high-grade and larger-volume tumors (Gleason score 8 and 9) with higher specificity than MR imaging. In particular, there was relatively low ¹⁸F-DCFBC PET uptake in benign prostatic hypertrophy lesions, compared with cancer in the prostate, which may allow for more specific detection of primary prostate cancer by ¹⁸F-DCFBC PET. This study demonstrates the utility of PSMA-based PET, which may be used in conjunction with MR imaging to identify clinically significant prostate cancer.