To conduct a clinical trial testing whether a new imaging approach could reduce the need for biopsies to monitor prostate cancer. The five-year grant, with a possible two-year extension, will evaluate whether adding an imaging modality called Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Computed Tomography (CT) to active surveillance regimens can rule out the presence of cancer that requires treatment.

PSMA-PET CT uses a radioactive diagnostic agent to detect a protein that is found on the surface of prostate cells and at higher levels on prostate cancer cells. The technique is already used to detect the spread of cancer in men with high-risk prostate cancers and cancer recurrence in men who are in remission. We hope to use PSMA-PET CT as a less invasive and less costly alternative to biopsy in men undergoing active surveillance for low or moderate-risk prostate cancers.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States. Yet, most older men diagnosed with prostate cancer have slow-growing, low-risk cancers that will not harm them during their lifetime. Rather than subject these men to surgery or radiation that may cause harmful side effects, most physicians recommend active surveillance instead.

These men undergo regular blood tests measuring prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, magnetic resonance imaging and biopsies to ensure that their cancer has not progressed into a more dangerous form. However, repeated biopsies can lead to infection, urination difficulties and other symptoms, causing many to stop monitoring their cancer.

Source: https://tech.cornell.edu/news/national-cancer-institute-prostate-cancer-imaging/