CT scans, MRIs and bone scans have long been used to diagnose and stage prostate cancer. But doctors have a new imaging tool that could work even better.
It’s called a PSMA PET scan, and it uses molecular imaging targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen or PSMA, a protein found on the surface of prostate cancer cells.
“PSMA PET is the single best method we have to precisely visualize prostate cancer in the body. Knowing the anatomic location of prostate cancer helps us make better treatment decisions and monitor a patient’s response to therapy, according to University of Chicago Medicine.
Until recently doctors have had a hard time imaging prostate cancer because older radiotracers, which are radioactive molecules that stick to cancer cells and can be seen on PET scans, don’t bind to prostate cancer cells, making them more difficult to see.
But, University of Chicago Medicine says a NEW radiotracer does bind to prostate cancer cells and makes them easier to see, which in turn, helps doctors make better treatment choices and monitor how well a patient is responding to treatment.
“PSMA PET is considered a valuable tool for various aspects of patient care in the clinical management of prostate cancer and has shown promising results in initial staging of prostate cancer, localization of recurrent or persistent disease, and staging before PSMA-directed radioligand therapy,” according to a 2023 study titled PSMA PET Imaging in the Diagnosis and Management of Prostate Cancer.
While researchers continue studying how PSMA PET will impact patient outcomes, they also believe PSMA PET has other potential uses for diagnosing prostate cancer including guiding prostate biopsies.
PSMA PET Scan Candidates
For men just diagnosed with prostate cancer, “PSMA PET has a moderate sensitivity but very high specificity for identifying lymph nodes in the pelvis that harbor prostate cancer; this means that an abnormal lymph node on the scan is almost certainly prostate cancer and the urologist or radiation oncologist can adjust their planned therapy accordingly,” according to the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.
For men with recurrent prostate cancer, “PSMA PET appears to be the most sensitive modality available for identifying sites of disease,” continues the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.
However, once the disease is identified, it’s important for patients to understand their treatment options and decide what’s best for them.
Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer? CyberKnife Can Help
If treatment calls for radiation, the experts at the CyberKnife Center of Miami, the leading cancer radiation treatment center in South Florida, believe you should consider CyberKnife, a form of external beam stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) that delivers high-dose radiation directly to the tumor, leaving healthy tissue unharmed.
CyberKnife tracks a tumor in real time, minimizing the amount of healthy tissue exposed to radiation. With CyberKnife, patients require many fewer treatments than with traditional radiation, and side effects can be minimized.
CyberKnife Miami for Prostate Cancer Care
CyberKnife has a very high success rate treating prostate cancer. According to CyberKnife Miami, it’s about 95% when detected early. That’s just one reason more than 20,000 men have been treated with CyberKnife reports Accuray, the company that makes CyberKnife. Typically completed in just 5 treatment sessions over 1 to 2 weeks, compared to 39–45 sessions for conventional radiation therapy.
Here are some other advantages of CyberKnife:
- It’s noninvasive.
- There is no anesthesia or cutting.
- It doesn’t come with the risks of surgery like infection and long periods of downtime.
- The CyberKnife radiation beams, which target and destroy the tumor, are exceedingly precise. That means there are less risks of side effects including impotence and incontinence. That’s a relief to most men who are looking for alternative treatment options for prostate cancer.
Prostate Cancer Treatment Near Me
If you want to learn more about CyberKnife for prostate cancer, contact the experts at CyberKnife Miami for a consultation. We treat patients from across South Florida, the United States and even around the world.
If you would like to find out more about prostate cancer treatment with CyberKnife, call us at 305-279-2900 or go to the CyberKnife Miami website now for more information.