Improvements in Prostate Cancer Management: Focus on Imaging and Treatment

Abstract

Prostate cancer has traditionally been staged through the use of conventional imaging techniques such as bone scintigraphy, CT, and MRI. However, the introduction of more sensitive techniques, such as prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) imaging, has allowed previously undetectable metastases to be identified, thereby enabling more accurate staging of the disease and greater refinement in management strategies. This article summarises a symposium delivered on 3rd July 2022 at the 37th European Association of Urology (EAU) Annual Congress in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where speakers from three different specialties raised important questions in prostate cancer imaging. Stefano Fanti, Professor of Diagnostic Imaging/Director from S. Orsola Policlinic Hospital, Bologna, Italy, asked: “What is PSMA all about?”, and Jochen Walz, Professor of Urology and Head, Department of Urology at the Institut Paoli-Calmettes Cancer Centre, Marseille, France, wondered: “When does PSMA help me?” Alicia Morgans, Genitourinary Medical Oncologist/Medical Director at the Dana-Faber Cancer Institute, USA, then offered an overview of the future of prostate cancer management. The session concluded with the presentation of three cases of patients with different stages of prostate cancer, all of which illustrated the transformative benefit of PSMA imaging in accurately staging patients and directing subsequent treatment options.