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Renal Cell Carcinoma: the Oncologist Asks, Can PSMA PET/CT Answer?

  • New Imaging Techniques (S Rais-Bahrami and K Porter, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Urology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

To critically review the potential clinical applications of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) radioactive ligands in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Recent Findings

Radioactive probes targeting PSMA hold promise in several malignancies in addition to prostate cancer, owing to the expression of PSMA by tumor neovasculature. The majority of clear cell RCCs (ccRCC), the most malignant RCC subtype, express PSMA on tumor-associated neovasculature. The endothelium of less aggressive RCC subtypes is PSMA positive in a lower, but still significant percentage of cases. PSMA might therefore represent an interesting theragnostic target in RCC.

Summary

The preliminary data available suggest a potential role for PSMA-targeting radiopharmaceuticals in complementing conventional imaging for staging ccRCC patients at risk of nodal involvement and oligometastatic disease. Additional applications of PSMA imaging may be the selection and the response assessment of patients receiving anti-angiogenic treatments. The effectiveness of PSMA-targeting radionuclide therapy should also be investigated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, AUSL Toscana Centro San Giuseppe Hospital, Viale Boccaccio 20, 50053, Empoli, Italy

    Chiara Pozzessere

  2. Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Chiara Pozzessere, John O. Prior & Francesco Cicone

  3. Division of Medical Oncology, San Camillo De Lellis Hospital, Rieti, Italy

    Maria Bassanelli & Anna Ceribelli

  4. Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Sazan Rasul & Shuren Li

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  1. Chiara Pozzessere
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  2. Maria Bassanelli
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  3. Anna Ceribelli
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  4. Sazan Rasul
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  5. Shuren Li
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  7. Francesco Cicone
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Correspondence to Chiara Pozzessere.

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Chiara Pozzessere, Maria Bassanelli, Anna Ceribelli, Sazan Rasul, Shuren Li, John O. Prior, and Francesco Cicone each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

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Pozzessere, C., Bassanelli, M., Ceribelli, A. et al. Renal Cell Carcinoma: the Oncologist Asks, Can PSMA PET/CT Answer?. Curr Urol Rep 20, 68 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11934-019-0938-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11934-019-0938-9

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