Choline PET/CT Imaging for Management of Prostate Cancer

Kazuhiro Kitajima, Kazuhito Fukushima, Koichiro Yamakado, Shozo Hirota and Shingo Yamamoto

Department of Radiology, Division of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Hyogo College of Medicine, Japan
Department of Radiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Japan
Department of Urology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Japan

^*Correspondance to: Kazuhiro Kitajima 

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Abstract:

Whole-body Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) with [¹¹C]- and [¹⁸F]-labeled choline derivatives has emerged as a promising molecular imaging modality for evaluation of prostate cancer. ¹¹C-choline and ¹⁸F-flurocholine PET/CT examinations have been shown to be effective for restaging of prostate cancer patients with biochemical disease recurrence after undergoing definitive therapy, especially those with a serum prostate-specific antigen level >1.0 ng/mL. On the other hand, they have more limited roles for initial staging of prostate cancer or detection of tiny lymph node metastasis, due to the low spatial resolution inherent with PET. Overall, these modalities are most useful for cases with a high pre-test suspicion of metastatic disease. Here, we review the current clinical roles of ¹¹C-choline and ¹⁸F-fluorocholine PET/CT for management of patients with prostate cancer.

Keywords:

prostate cancer; Staging; Restaging; 11C-choline; 18F-fluorocholine; Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT)

Cite the Article:

Kitajima K, Fukushima K, Yamakado K, Hirota S, Yamamoto S. Choline PET/CT Imaging for Management of Prostate Cancer. Clin Oncol. 2017; 2: 1218.