The accuracy and intra- and interobserver variability of PSMA PET/CT for the local staging of primary prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography/ computed tomography (PET/CT) is recognized as the most accurate imaging modality for detection of metastatic high-risk prostate cancer (PCa). Its role in the local staging of disease is yet unclear. We assessed the intra- and interobserver variability, as well as the diagnostic accuracy of the PSMA PET/CT based molecular imaging local tumour stage (miT-stage) for the local tumour stage assessment in a large, multicentre cohort of patients with intermediate and high-risk primary PCa, with the radical prostatectomy specimen (pT-stage) serving as the reference standard. METHODS: A total of 600 patients who underwent staging PSMA PET/CT before robot-assisted radical prostatectomy was studied. In 579 PSMA positive primary prostate tumours a comparison was made between miT-stage as assessed by four nuclear physicians and the pT-stage according to ISUP protocol. Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy were determined. In a representative subset of 100 patients, the intra-and interobserver variability were assessed using Kappa-estimates. RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of the PSMA PET/CT based miT-stage were 58% and 59% for pT3a-stage, 30% and 97% for ≥ pT3b-stage, and 68% and 61% for overall ≥ pT3-stage, respectively. No statistically significant differences in diagnostic accuracy were found between tracers. We found a substantial intra-observer agreement for PSMA PET/CT assessment of ≥ T3-stage (k 0.70) and ≥ T3b-stage (k 0.75), whereas the interobserver agreement for the assessment of ≥ T3-stage (k 0.47) and ≥ T3b-stage (k 0.41) were moderate. CONCLUSION: In a large, multicentre study evaluating 600 patients with newly diagnosed intermediate and high-risk PCa, we showed that PSMA PET/CT may have a value in local tumour staging when pathological tumour stage in the radical prostatectomy specimen was used as the reference standard. The intra-observer and interobserver variability of assessment of tumour extent on PSMA PET/CT was moderate to substantial.

Incidence of PSMA PET thyroid incidentaloma depends on analysis method and tracer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidences of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) thyroid incidentaloma (PTI) using different methods to define PTI, to compare the incidence of PTI among different PSMA PET tracers, and to evaluate the clinical consequences of PTI. METHODS: PSMA PET/CT scans in consecutive patients with primary prostate cancer were analyzed for the presence of PTI using a structured visual (SV) analysis reporting any elevated thyroidal uptake; a semi-quantitative (SQ) analysis using a SUVmax thyroid/bloodpool (t/b) ratio ≥ 2.0 as cutoff; and an analysis of PTI incidence in the clinical reports (RV analysis). RESULTS: A total of 502 patients were included. The incidence of PTIs was 22% in the SV analysis, 7% in the SQ analysis, and 2% in the RV analysis. PTI incidences differed significantly from 29 to 64% (SQ, resp. SV analysis) for [18F]PSMA-1007, 7 to 23% for [68Ga]PSMA-11, 2 to 8% for [18F]DCFPyL, and to 0% for [18F]PSMA-JK-7. The majority of PTI in the SV and SQ analyses consisted of diffuse (72-83%) and/or only slightly elevated thyroidal uptake (70%). Inter-observer agreement in the SV analysis was substantial (kappa = 0.76-0.78). During follow-up (median 16.8 months), there were no thyroid-related adverse events except in three patients. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of PTI varies greatly among different PSMA PET tracers and is strongly dependent on the analysis method applied. PTI may safely be restricted to focal thyroidal uptake with a SUVmax t/b ratio ≥ 2.0. The clinical pursuit of a PTI must be weighed up to the expected outcome of the underlying disease. KEY POINTS: • Thyroid incidentalomas (PTIs) are recognized in PSMA PET/CT. • Incidence of PTI varies greatly among PET tracers and analysis methods. • Incidence of thyroid-related adverse events in PTI cases is low.

Clinical impact of PSMA PET/CT in primary prostate cancer compared to conventional nodal and distant staging: a retrospective single center study.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the impact of Gallium-68 [68Ga] labeled prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET)/X-ray computed tomography (CT) compared with conventional imaging on staging and clinical management of men evaluated for primary prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS: Men with newly diagnosed biopsy-proven PCa who had been staged with a conventional staging protocol including bone scintigraphy (BS) and additionally underwent [68Ga]PSMA PET/CT, were evaluated retrospectively. Imaging findings from BS, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or CT were categorized regarding locoregional nodal (N) and distant metastasis (M) status as negative, positive or equivocal before and after addition of the information of PET/CT. Also, the imaging-based level of confidence (LoC) in correct assessment of N and M status was scored. Impact of PET/CT on clinical management was evaluated by the percentage of treatment category changes after PET/CT as determined in the multidisciplinary tumour board. RESULTS: Sixty-four men with intermediate and high-risk PCa were evaluated. With additional information of PET/CT, N status was upstaged in 23%, and downstaged in 9%. M status was upstaged in 13%, and downstaged in 23%. A net increase in LoC of 20% was noted, mainly regarding M status. Treatment category changed from palliative to curative in 9%, and from curative to palliative in 3%. An undecided treatment plan changed to curative in 14%, as well as to palliative in another 9%. In total, a 36% treatment category change was noted. High negative predictive value of PET/CT for M status was indicated by 27 patients that underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy and reached postoperative biochemical disease-free status or had a likely other site of disease recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: PSMA PET/CT can cause considerable changes in N and M staging, as well as in management compared to conventional staging. Findings of this study support the replacement of BS and CT by PSMA PET/CT in staging primary PCa.

Hypoxia after liver surgery imposes an aggressive cancer stem cell phenotype on residual tumor cells.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the contribution of hypoxia and bone marrow-derived cells to aggressive outgrowth of micrometastases after liver surgery. BACKGROUND: Liver surgery generates a microenvironment that fosters aggressive tumor recurrence. These areas are characterized by chronic hypoxia and influx of bone marrow-derived cells. METHODS: The contribution of hematopoietic cell types was studied in mice lacking specific components of the immune system and in irradiated mice lacking all bone marrow-derived cells. Tumor cells were derived from colorectal cancer patients and from a metastatic tumor cell line. Hypoxia-induced changes in stem cell and differentiation marker expression, clone-forming potential, and metastatic capacity were assessed. The effect of vascular clamping on cancer stem cell (CSC) characteristics was performed in mice bearing patient-derived liver metastases. RESULTS: Immune cells and bone marrow-derived cells were not required for aggressive outgrowth of micrometastases in livers treated with surgery. Rather, hypoxia was sufficient to promote invasion and accelerate metastatic outgrowth. This was associated with a rapid loss of differentiation markers and increased expression of CSC markers and clone-forming capacity. Likewise, metastases residing in ischemia-reperfusion-injured liver lobes acquired CSC characteristics. Despite their renowned general resistance to chemotherapy, clone-forming CSCs were readily killed by the hypoxia-activated prodrug tirapazamine. CONCLUSIONS: Surgery-generated hypoxia in the liver causes rapid dedifferentiation of tumor cells into immature CSCs with high clone- and metastasis-forming capacity. The results help explain the phenomenon of aggressive local tumor recurrence after liver surgery and offer a potential strategy to kill aggressive CSCs by hypoxia-activated prodrugs.

Extravasation After [ 177 Lu]Lu-HA-DOTATATE Therapy.

ABSTRACT: Extravasation of the radiopharmaceutical during peptide receptor radionuclide therapy infusion is an unwanted infrequently reported event. We present the case of a 74-year old woman with a neuroendocrine tumor who was referred for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy. During intravenous infusion of 7.4 GBq [ 177 Lu]Lu-HA-DOTATATE in the upper right arm, extravasation of the radiopharmaceutical occurred through a displaced intravenous catheter. Planar scintigraphy showed pooling of radioactivity in the right upper arm. After 24 hours, the swelling in the arm was decreased; however, erythema was increased. One week later, symptoms had disappeared, and the patient did not experience any complications during follow-up of 11 months.

Educational interventions to improve the meaningful use of Electronic Health Records: a review of the literature: BEME Guide No. 29.

BACKGROUND: Electronic health records (EHRs) are increasingly available and this was expected to reduce healthcare costs and medical errors. This promise has not been realized because healthcare professionals are unable to use EHRs in a manner that contributes to significant improvements in care, i.e. meaningful. Policymakers now acknowledge that training healthcare professionals in meaningful use is essential for successful EHR implementation. To help educators and policymakers design evidence based educational interventions (i.e. interventions that involve educational activities but no practical lessons) and training (i.e. interventions that involve practical components), we summarized all evidence regarding the efficacy of different educational interventions to improve meaningful use of EHRs. METHODS: We used a predefined search filter to search eight databases for studies that considered an educational intervention to promote meaningful use of EHRs by healthcare professionals. RESULTS: Seven of the 4507 reviewed articles met the in- and exclusion criteria. CONCLUSIONS: These studies suggest that a combination of classroom training, computer-based training and feedback is most effective to improve meaningful use. In addition, the training should be tailored to the needs of the trainees and they should be able to practice in their own time. However, the evidence is very limited and we recommend that governments, hospitals and other policymakers invest more in the development of evidence based educational interventions to improve meaningful use of EHRs.

The Diagnostic Value of PSMA PET/CT in Men with Newly Diagnosed Unfavorable Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer.

Our objective was to determine the diagnostic value of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT in staging men with newly diagnosed unfavorable intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PCa). Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed unfavorable intermediate-risk PCa, in whom PSMA PET/CT was performed as a primary staging modality, were retrospectively studied. PSMA PET/CT was performed at several diagnostic centers and reported by expert nuclear medicine physicians within 2 high-volume PCa centers. A multivariate logistic regression analysis, taking into account clinical, biochemical, pathologic, and radiologic variables, was performed to identify potential independent predictors for metastatic disease on PSMA PET/CT. Results: In total, 396 men with newly diagnosed unfavorable intermediate-risk PCa were studied. Metastatic disease was observed in 37 (9.3%) men, of whom 29 (7.3%) had molecular imaging locoregional lymph node metastases (miN1) and 16 (4.0%) had distant metastases (miM1). A radiologic tumor stage of at least T3 on MRI (odds ratio, 2.72 [95% CI, 1.27-5.83]; P = 0.01) and more than 50% positive prostate biopsies (odds ratio, 3.87 [95% CI, 1.74-8.62]; P = 0.001) were found to be independently associated with metastatic disease on PSMA PET/CT. Conclusion: Given that metastatic disease was observed in nearly 1 in 10 men with newly diagnosed unfavorable intermediate-risk PCa, PSMA PET/CT is considered to be of diagnostic value within this population. Further stratification using the radiologic tumor stage and the percentage of positive prostate biopsies could aid in identifying those patients at risk of having metastatic disease on PSMA PET/CT.