Role of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in the Setting of Biochemically Recurrent Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the most common solid malignancy among men in the Western world. Of the 50% of patients with localized prostate cancer who elect to undergo radical prostatectomy, up to 60% will experience recurrence of disease. Salvage radiotherapy is the standard treatment for biochemically recurrent prostate cancer but rates of success in terms of long-term biochemical control remain suboptimal. Functional imaging may potentially improve salvage radiotherapy via detection of disease foci which would otherwise be missed by conventional imaging modalities. Herein we review the most commonly employed PET radiotracers for prostate cancer (11C-choline, 18F-choline, and 11C-acetate) with particular attention on their ability to identify foci of recurrent disease as well as their utility as a guide for radiotherapy.