Abstract:
Objective To explore significant differences in the metabolic volume parameters of prostate specific membrane antigen labeled with 68Gallium (68Ga-PSMA-11) PET/CT among different risk stratification subgroups in patients with newly diagnosed prostate carcinoma (PCa).
Methods The images and clinical data of 85 untreated patients with PCa (aged 49–88 (69.1±7.7) years) newly diagnosed by prostate biopsy and examined by 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Military Medical University from January 2019 to December 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. In accordance with the occurrence of tumor metastasis and the risk stratification recommended by the guidelines of National Comprehensive Cancer Network, patients were divided into binary subgroups: non-metastasis and metastasis subgroups as well as low-medium- and high-risk subgroups. Taking the Gleason score (GS)=8 as the critical value, patients were divided into GS<8 and GS≥8 subgroups. Taking serum prostate specific antigen (PSA)=20 ng/mL as the critical value, patients were divided into PSA≤20 ng/mL and PSA>20 ng/mL subgroups. In accordance with clinical stage, patients were divided into clinical T1–T2 and T3–T4 subgroups. Three dimensional sketching method was used to automatically measure and sketch the region of interest of tumor lesions on 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT images, and calculate the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), primary PSMA tumor volume (PSMA-TVprimary), whole-body PSMA tumor volume (PSMA-TVwhole body), total number of primary PSMA tumors (TL-PSMAprimary), and total number of whole-body PSMA tumors (TL-PSMAwhole body) separately. The metabolic volume parameters between subgroups were compared by the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U rank sum test of two independent samples.
Results The results of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT were positive in all 85 patients, including 46 cases (54.1%) in the non-metastasis subgroup and 39 cases (45.9%) in the metastasis subgroup as well as 15 cases (17.6%) in the low-medium-risk subgroup and 70 cases (82.4%) in the high-risk subgroup. The SUVmax, PSMA-TVprimary, PSMA-TVwhole body, TL-PSMAprimary, and TL-PSMAwhole body in the metastasis subgroup were significantly higher than those in the non-metastasis subgroup (16.2 vs. 9.8, 39.5 cm3 vs. 10.8 cm3, 58.8 cm3 vs. 10.8 cm3, 318.4 cm3 vs. 37.2 cm3, 628.0 cm3 vs. 37.2 cm3; Z=−6.301 to −2.580, all P<0.05). The SUVmax, PSMA-TVprimary, PSMA-TVwhole body, TL-PSMAprimary, and TL-PSMAwhole body in the high-risk subgroup were significantly higher than those in the low-medium-risk subgroup (13.8 vs. 4.2, 16.5 cm3 vs. 8.4 cm3, 21.9 cm3 vs. 11.4 cm3, 146.1 cm3 vs. 27.4 cm3, 229.6 cm3 vs. 28.6 cm3; Z=−4.242 to −2.438, all P<0.05). The SUVmax, PSMA-TVwhole body, TL-PSMAprimary, and TL-PSMAwhole body in the GS≥8 subgroup were significantly higher than those in the GS<8 subgroup (14.8 vs. 9.9, 23.9 cm3 vs. 14.3 cm3, 146.1 cm3 vs. 36.3 cm3, 229.6 cm3 vs. 36.3 cm3; Z=−2.850 to −2.074, all P<0.05), whereas the PSMA-TVprimary was not significantly different between the two subgroups (16.5 cm3 vs. 12.5 cm3, Z=−1.231, P=0.218). The SUVmax, PSMA-TVprimary, PSMA-TVwhole body, TL-PSMAprimary, and TL-PSMAwhole body in the PSA>20 ng/mL subgroup were significantly higher than those in the PSA≤20 ng/mL subgroup (16.2 vs. 6.4, 24.7 cm3 vs. 8.2 cm3, 41.4 cm3 vs. 10.2 cm3, 253.9 cm3 vs. 28.0 cm3, 361.5 cm3 vs. 29.7 cm3; Z=−6.279 to −3.948, all P<0.001). The SUVmax, PSMA-TVprimary, PSMA-TVwhole body, TL-PSMAprimary, and TL-PSMAwhole body in the clinical T3–T4 subgroup were significantly higher than those in the clinical T1–T2 subgroup (16.6 vs. 9.3, 34.9 cm3 vs. 10.7 cm3, 62.3 cm3 vs. 14.3 cm3, 303.5 cm3 vs. 32.6 cm3, 482.1 cm3 vs. 45.9 cm3; Z=−4.889 to −3.629, all P<0.001).
Conclusion The metabolic volume parameters based on 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in metastatic and high-risk patients with newly diagnosed PCa were significantly higher than those in non-metastatic and low-medium-risk patients.