Now offering Axumin PET CT for imaging of recurrent prostate cancer.
Since one in seven men have prostate cancer, and a third of those treated will experience recurrence, early detection and treatment are important to their health. One main marker of prostate cancer is prostate cancer antigen (PSA), a protein that is often elevated in men with prostate cancer. When PSA in the blood indicates that the patient may have prostate cancer, a standard body or bone scan is usually done in order to see where the cancer is. However, these tests are unable to determine the location of cancer until PSA levels are increasingly elevated since the standard FDG PET CT scans are severely limited in uptake for prostate cancer. Axumin PET scans offer a significant advantage- the ability to detect recurrent cancer earlier on as well as a clearer picture of cancer’s progression, indicating whether or not or to what degree it has metastasized and where it is located.
How does Axumin work?
While normal bone scans use radioactive substances that indicate which bones are affected by cancer, Axumin links a radioactive tracer to a certain amino acid that the cancer processes much faster than ordinary cells. This tracer becomes concentrated in cancer, making it visible in bones and soft tissues as well. Salvage Radiation Therapy needs to be initiated at lower PSA levels for best results, and Axumin allows detection at these levels that standard scans do not. An earlier detection combined with a more specific treatment will yield significant benefits to patients with recurrent prostate cancer, who will be able to get a head start on their recovery and better manage their illness.