Purpose
The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of 18F-fluorocholine (FCH) PET/CT and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) of pelvis in restaging prostate cancer (PC) patients with biochemical recurrence (BCR) following radical prostatectomy (RP).
Methods
Twenty PC patients who had undergone RP and had BCR were recruited in this study. All the patients underwent whole-body FCH PET/CT and DCE-MRI of the pelvis. An overall pattern of recurrent disease was analyzed, and diagnostic accuracy for the detection of pelvic disease recurrence by the 2 modalities was evaluated by taking histopathologic analysis as the criterion standard. The whole-body FCH PET/CT images were also analyzed separately for the presence of any extra lesion(s).
Results
The initial mean Gleason score was 6.3 ± 1.53 (range, 4–9). The mean prostate-specific antigen levels at the time of relapse were 1.9 ± 2.87 ng/mL (range, 0.24–13.2 ng/mL). MRI findings were positive for primary tumor recurrence in the prostate bed in 6 patients (6/20 [30.0%]), pelvic lymph node metastases in 4 patients (4/20 [20.0%]), and for pelvic skeletal metastases in 2 patients (2/20 [10.0%]), respectively. On the other hand, FCH PET/CT results were positive in the corresponding sites in 7 (7/20 [35.0%]), 9 (9/20 [45.0%]), and 2 patients (2/20 [10.0%]), respectively. 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT and MRI showed comparable results in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for PC characterization. The whole-body FCH PET/CT was found to be useful in identifying unknown distant metastases in a significant proportion of patients.
Conclusions
The correlative whole-body FCH PET/CT and pelvic DCE-MRI offer a complementary and comprehensive diagnostic workup for better management of PC patients with BCR following RP.
