FDG-PET imaging uses a form of radioactive glucose (18-fluoro-deoxyglucose or FDG), which allows the measurement of glucose metabolic rate of any tissue in the body. The most prevalent tumors have a glucose avidity that is typically greater than 2.5 times the avidity of benign tissue. Therefore, FDG-PET is able to discriminate between benign lymph nodes and those containing metastases, and similarly between scar tissue and recurrence of tumor.
Unfortunately, prostate cancer is only minimally glucose avid, and therefore, FDG-PET is much less effective in staging prostate cancer. The current FDA-approved imaging agent for prostate cancer is a monoclonal antibody specific for prostate cancer cells, capromab pendetide, labeled with a long-lived radionuclide \[111\]Indium that is used to image the patient over a six day period. However, recent data show that another PET radiopharmaceutical, \[11C\]Acetate (which has been FDA approved for years for cardiac imaging), is avidly taken up by prostate metastasis and is more sensitive than either \[111\]Indium capromab pendetide or FDG-PET.
This study will assess the clinical effectiveness of utilizing \[11C\]Acetate PET scans in identifying recurrent prostate cancer and aim to find at what PSA levels it is most effective.
