Dr. Petrylak on Imaging Approaches in Prostate Cancer

Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, director, Prostate and GU Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center, describes imaging approaches in prostate cancer.

Petrylak says sodium fluoride PET represents a sensitive way of detecting bone metastases, as 90% of prostate cancer metastases come from the bone. Sodium fluoride PET is reasonable to use if treatment with enzalutamide, sipuleucel-T, or abiraterone, in patients with rising PSA and negative conventional imaging.

There are some imaging approaches that are not yet ready for clinical use, Petrylak says. For example, the Artemis device is being looked at in clinical studies to help detect prostate cancer in localized biopsies. Petrylak says sodium acetate PET and amino acid imaging are also still under investigation. Petrylak believes that research into imaging for targeted therapies as a way to check for activity and eligibility is very important.