Background:
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer among men in Norway, with over 5,000 new cases annually [1]. The diagnostic process often begins with measuring the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood, followed by MRI scans and finally biopsies to assess aggressiveness. Biopsies are an important part of current diagnostics and follow-up for prostate cancer patients, as imaging alone does not provide sufficient specificity; however, prostate biopsies are also associated with a risk of infection and complications.
Imaging with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET uses a radioactive tracer that binds to cancer cells in the prostate, and retrospective studies have shown that this modality has the potential to supplement MRI and safely avoid invasive biopsies [2]. Traditional PSMA PET imaging involves a static whole-body scan one hour after tracer injection, providing a snapshot of the tracer’s binding to the cancer cells. While this method allows for visual inspection and semi-quantitative measurement of tracer concentration in the prostate, metastases, or other areas, it is limited to information from the exact scanning time point. Dynamic PET (dPET), on the other hand, continuously records tracer uptake from the time of injection, enabling fully quantitative measurements and analysis of uptake, internalization, and excretion rates.
Aim:
With the help of artificial intelligence and deep learning, this project will use information from dynamic PSMA PET/MRI to develop a virtual biopsy model. In the future, this approach may replace today’s invasive biopsies with a non-invasive virtual biopsy, thereby improving the diagnostic process for prostate cancer patients by reducing pain, discomfort, and risk of complications.
Project Partners:
The project is a collaboration between SPKI, UNN, UiT, NTNU, and Helse Nord IKT. The project includes the hiring of Elin Anita Maria Kile in a three-year PhD position.
- [1] Larsen, I.K., et al., Cancer in Norway 2022 - Cancer incidence, mortality, survival and prevalence in Norway. 2023, Kreftregisteret.
- [2] Meissner, V.H., et al., Radical Prostatectomy Without Prior Biopsy Following Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography. European Urology, 2022. 82(2): p. 156-160.
