Diagnostic Performance of ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT Versus Multiparametric MRI for Detection of Intraprostatic Radiorecurrent Prostate Cancer.

Abstract

For men with prostate cancer who develop biochemical failure after radiotherapy, European guidelines recommend reimaging with ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT and multiparametric MRI (mpMRI). However, the accuracy of ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT for detecting intraprostatic recurrences is unclear, both with and without mpMRI. <b>Methods:</b> A single-center retrospective study of a series of patients investigated for radiorecurrence between 2016 and 2022 is described. All patients underwent ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT, mpMRI, and prostate biopsy. PET/CT images were interpreted independently by 2 expert readers masked to other imaging and clinical data. The primary outcome was the diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT versus mpMRI and of PET/CT with mpMRI together versus mpMRI alone. The secondary outcome was the proportion of cancers missed by mpMRI but detected by PET/CT. Diagnostic accuracy analysis was performed at the prostate hemigland level using cluster bootstrapping. <b>Results:</b> Thirty-five men (70 hemiglands) were included. Cancer was confirmed by biopsy in 43 of 70 hemiglands (61%). PET/CT sensitivity and negative predictive values (NPVs) were 0.89 (95% CI, 0.78-0.98) and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.62-0.95), respectively, which were not significantly different from results by MRI (sensitivity of 0.72; 95% CI, 0.61-0.83; <i>P</i> = 0.1) (NPV of 0.59; 95% CI, 0.41-0.75; <i>P</i> = 0.07). Specificity and positive predictive values were not significantly different. When PET/CT and MRI were used together, the sensitivity was 0.98 (95% CI, 0.92-1.00) and NPV was 0.93 (95% CI, 0.75-1.00), both significantly higher than MRI alone (<i>P</i> = 0.003 and <i>P</i> < 0.001, respectively). Specificity and positive predictive values remained not significantly different. MRI missed 12 of 43 cancers (28%; 95% CI, 17%-43%), of which 11 of 12 (92%; 95% CI, 62%-100%) were detected by PET/CT. <b>Conclusion:</b> For detecting intraprostatic radiorecurrence, ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT has high sensitivity that is not significantly different from mpMRI. When ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT and mpMRI were used together, the results conferred a significantly greater sensitivity and NPV than with mpMRI alone. ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT may therefore be a useful tool in the diagnosis of localized radiorecurrence.