What is a PSMA-PET scan?

Unlike other cancers, prostate cancer generally grows slowly and often doesn’t show up on standard PET scans. For a PSMA-PET scan we use a different type of radioactive tracer that is targeted specifically at a protein present on most prostate cancer cells, called Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen or PSMA. A PSMA-PET scan can see small deposits of prostate cancer down to a few millimetres in size, so it is particularly good at detecting prostate cancer in the early stages when it first starts to spread.

An accurate assessment of whether, and where, the cancer has spread means that we can better tailor treatment to our patients’ individual circumstances. Currently PSMA-PET scans are most useful when undertaken as part of the initial staging for men with localised but ‘high risk’ prostate cancer, for men who appear to have a few limited sites of metastatic spread (called oligometastases) or for men with PSA recurrence after their initial surgery or radiotherapy.

Australia has been an early adopter of this technology and PSMA-PET scans are becoming increasingly available in most cities around the country. At Icon, on-site radiology services provided by Qscan are available at many of our centres across Australia.

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A/Prof David Pryor is a Radiation Oncologist at Icon Greenslopes and Icon Redland.