Histopathology-validated gross tumor volume delineations of intraprostatic lesions using PSMA-positron emission tomography/multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging.

Background and purpose: Dose escalation in external radiotherapy of prostate cancer shows promising results in terms of biochemical disease-free survival. Boost volume delineation guidelines are sparse which may cause high interobserver variability. The aim of this research was to characterize gross tumor volume (GTV) delineations based on multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and prostate specific membrane antigen-positron emission tomography (PSMA-PET) in relation to histopathology-validated Gleason grade 4 and 5 regions. Material and methods: The study participants were examined with [68Ga]PSMA-PET/mpMRI prior to radical prostatectomy. Four radiation oncologists delineated GTVs in 15 study participants, on four different image types; T2-weighted (T2w), diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) and PSMA-PET scans separately. The simultaneous truth and performance level estimation (STAPLE) algorithm was used to generate combined GTVs. GTVs were subsequently compared to histopathology. We analysed how Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and lesion coverage are affected by using single versus multiple image types as well as by adding a clinical target volume (CTV) margin. Results: Median DSC (STAPLE) for different GTVs varied between 0.33 and 0.52. GTVPSMA-PET/mpMRI generated the highest median lesion coverage at 0.66. Combining different image types achieved similar lesion coverage as adding a CTV margin to contours from a single image type, while reducing non-malignant tissue inclusion within the target volume. Conclusion: The combined use of mpMRI or PSMA-PET/mpMRI shows promise, achieving higher DSC and lesion coverage while minimizing non-malignant tissue inclusion, in comparison to the use of a single image type with an added CTV margin.

Accuracy of gross tumour volume delineation with [68Ga]-PSMA-PET compared to histopathology for high-risk prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: The delineation of intraprostatic lesions is vital for correct delivery of focal radiotherapy boost in patients with prostate cancer (PC). Errors in the delineation could translate into reduced tumour control and potentially increase the side effects. The purpose of this study is to compare PET-based delineation methods with histopathology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 15 patients with confirmed high-risk PC intended for prostatectomy. [68Ga]-PSMA-PET/MR was performed prior to surgery. Prostate lesions identified in histopathology were transferred to the in vivo [68Ga]-PSMA-PET/MR coordinate system. Four radiation oncologists manually delineated intraprostatic lesions based on PET data. Various semi-automatic segmentation methods were employed, including absolute and relative thresholds, adaptive threshold, and multi-level Otsu threshold. RESULTS: The gross tumour volumes (GTVs) delineated by the oncologists showed a moderate level of interobserver agreement with Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of 0.68. In comparison with histopathology, manual delineations exhibited the highest median DSC and the lowest false discovery rate (FDR) among all approaches. Among semi-automatic approaches, GTVs generated using standardized uptake value (SUV) thresholds above 4 (SUV > 4) demonstrated the highest median DSC (0.41), with 0.51 median lesion coverage ratio, FDR of 0.66 and the 95th percentile of the Hausdorff distance (HD95%) of 8.22 mm. INTERPRETATION: Manual delineations showed a moderate level of interobserver agreement. Compared to histopathology, manual delineations and SUV > 4 exhibited the highest DSC and the lowest HD95% values. The methods that resulted in a high lesion coverage were associated with a large overestimation of the size of the lesions.

The grade of individual prostate cancer lesions predicted by magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography.

BACKGROUND: Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) are widely used for the management of prostate cancer (PCa). However, how these modalities complement each other in PCa risk stratification is still largely unknown. We aim to provide insights into the potential of mpMRI and PET for PCa risk stratification. METHODS: We analyzed data from 55 consecutive patients with elevated prostate-specific antigen and biopsy-proven PCa enrolled in a prospective study between December 2016 and December 2019. [68Ga]PSMA-11 PET (PSMA-PET), [11C]Acetate PET (Acetate-PET) and mpMRI were co-registered with whole-mount histopathology. Lower- and higher-grade lesions were defined by International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade groups (IGG). We used PET and mpMRI data to differentiate between grades in two cases: IGG 3 vs. IGG 2 (case 1) and IGG ≥ 3 vs. IGG ≤ 2 (case 2). The performance was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: We find that the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) for PSMA-PET achieves the highest area under the ROC curve (AUC), with AUCs of 0.72 (case 1) and 0.79 (case 2). Combining the volume transfer constant, apparent diffusion coefficient and T2-weighted images (each normalized to non-malignant prostatic tissue) results in AUCs of 0.70 (case 1) and 0.70 (case 2). Adding PSMA-SUVmax increases the AUCs by 0.09 (p < 0.01) and 0.12 (p < 0.01), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: By co-registering whole-mount histopathology and in-vivo imaging we show that mpMRI and PET can distinguish between lower- and higher-grade prostate cancer, using partially discriminative cut-off values.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) are two medical imaging methods commonly used to image prostate cancers. However, the relationship between images obtained with these methods and prostate cancer aggressiveness is not well understood. Here, we investigate whether MRI and PET can differentiate between lower- and higher-grade prostate tumors, where grade is an indicator of how aggressive the disease is likely to be. We find that the characteristics of prostate cancer tumors as seen on MRI and PET scans can help to predict tumor grade. This means that these imaging methods may be helpful when clinicians are predicting patient prognosis and deciding on appropriate treatments. However, further validation is necessary before these approaches are widely implemented for this purpose.

Histopathology-validated lesion detection rates of clinically significant prostate cancer with mpMRI, [ 68 Ga]PSMA-11-PET and [ 11 C]Acetate-PET.

OBJECTIVE: PET/CT and multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) are important diagnostic tools in clinically significant prostate cancer (csPC). The aim of this study was to compare csPC detection rates with [ 68 Ga]PSMA-11-PET (PSMA)-PET, [ 11 C]Acetate (ACE)-PET, and mpMRI with histopathology as reference, to identify the most suitable imaging modalities for subsequent hybrid imaging. An additional aim was to compare inter-reader variability to assess reproducibility. METHODS: During 2016-2019, all study participants were examined with PSMA-PET/mpMRI and ACE-PET/CT prior to radical prostatectomy. PSMA-PET, ACE-PET and mpMRI were evaluated separately by two observers, and were compared with histopathology-defined csPC. Statistical analyses included two-sided McNemar test and index of specific agreement. RESULTS: Fifty-five study participants were included, with 130 histopathological intraprostatic lesions >0.05 cc. Of these, 32% (42/130) were classified as csPC with ISUP grade ≥2 and volume >0.5 cc. PSMA-PET and mpMRI showed no difference in performance ( P  = 0.48), with mean csPC detection rate of 70% (29.5/42) and 74% (31/42), respectively, while with ACE-PET the mean csPC detection rate was 37% (15.5/42). Interobserver agreement was higher with PSMA-PET compared to mpMRI [79% (26/33) vs 67% (24/38)]. Including all detected lesions from each pair of observers, the detection rate increased to 90% (38/42) with mpMRI, and 79% (33/42) with PSMA-PET. CONCLUSION: PSMA-PET and mpMRI showed high csPC detection rates and superior performance compared to ACE-PET. The interobserver agreement indicates higher reproducibility with PSMA-PET. The combined result of all observers in both PSMA-PET and mpMRI showed the highest detection rate, suggesting an added value of a hybrid imaging approach.