“Although previous studies have reported on the feasibility of PSMA-radioguided pelvic lymph node surgery, this study is among the first trials to investigate this technique in a larger number newly diagnosed patients,” said Melline G.M. Schilham, MD, executive researcher at the Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen, Netherlands. “The study shows that this novel surgical technique is safe and feasible. Furthermore, each patient underwent postoperative imaging to check whether the lymph nodes were truly removed, which is important to substantiate the reliability of the results.”

“The current results demonstrate the great potential for radioguided surgery in prostate cancer and highlight the expanding role of molecular imaging at the operating room,” noted Mark Rijpkema, PhD, principal investigator at the Radboud University Medical Centre. “Optimization of tracers and larger clinical trials may further improve surgical outcomes in the future by implementing both measurements of removed tissue, as well as real-time measurements during surgery.”


The authors of “Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen–Targeted Radioguided Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection in Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer Patients with a Suspicion of Locoregional Lymph Node Metastases: The DETECT Trial” include Melline G.M. Schilham, Department of Medical Imaging, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Prosper Prostate Cancer Clinics, Nijmegen/Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and Department of Urology, Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Diederik M. Somford and Jean Paul A. van Basten, Prosper Prostate Cancer Clinics, Nijmegen/Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and Department of Urology, Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Heidi V.N. Küsters-Vandevelde, Department of Pathology, Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Rick Hermsen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Robert J. Hoekstra, Prosper Prostate Cancer Clinics, Nijmegen/Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and Department of Urology, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands; Tom W.J. Scheenen, Martin Gotthardt, and Mark Rijpkema, Department of Medical Imaging, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; and Michiel Sedelaar, Prosper Prostate Cancer Clinics, Nijmegen/Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and Department of Urology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Molecular Imaging Homepage