18F-DCFPyL PSMA- Versus 18F-NaF-PET Imaging for Detection of Metastatic Prostate Cancer

May 28, 2026 updated by: National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Evaluation of 18F-DCFPyL PSMA- Versus 18F-NaF-PET Imaging for Detection of Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Background:

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men. Few options exist to create images of this type of cancer. Researchers think an experimental radiotracer called 18F-DCFPyL could find sites of cancer in the body.

Objective:

To see if 18F-DCFPyL can identify sites of prostate cancer in people with the disease.

Eligibility:

People ages 18 and older who have metastatic prostate cancer

Design:

Participants will be screened with:

  • Blood tests
  • Physical exam
  • Medical history

Participants will be assigned to 1 of 2 groups based on their PSA.

Participants will have 18F-DCFPyL injected into a vein. About 2 hours later they will have a whole-body Positron Emission

Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT). For the scan, they will lie on their back on the scanner table while it takes pictures of the body. This lasts about 50 minutes.

On another day, participants will have 18F -NaF injected into a vein. About 1 hour later, they will have a whole-body PET/CT.

Participants will be contacted 1 3 days later for follow-up. They may undergo PET/Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) either after having a 18F-DCFPyL PET/CT, or in place of PET/CT imaging. A tube may be placed in the rectum. More coils may be wrapped around the outside of the pelvis.

If the 18F-DCFPyL PET/CT is positive participants will be encouraged to undergo a biopsy of one of the tumors. The biopsy will be taken through a needle put through the skin into the tumor.

Participants will be followed for 1 year. During this time researchers will collect information about their prostate cancer, such as PSA levels and biopsy results.

About 4-6 months after scanning is completed, participants may have a tumor biopsy. The biopsy will be taken through a needle put through the skin into the tumor.

...

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Background:

The objective of this study is to evaluate a radiolabeled urea-based small molecule inhibitor of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), [18F] DCFPyL (DCFPyL) PET/CT (or PET/MRI imaging if available) for detection of metastatic prostate cancer

PSMA is a well characterized histological marker of prostate cancer tumor aggressiveness and metastatic potential

Our preliminary first-in-human studies demonstrate high specific uptake of a first generation less avid compound, DCFBC, in metastatic prostate cancer and demonstrated feasibility for prostate cancer metastatic detection.

We propose to assess the ability of DCFPyL PET to detect metastatic prostate cancer by visual qualitative and quantitative SUV analysis. Correlation will be made to sites of suspected bony metastatic disease detected by ultra-sensitive but less specific [18F] Sodium Fluoride (NaF)-PET/CT imaging and all sites of suspected disease detected by [18F] Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) for prostate cancer.

Objective:

To compare the diagnostic sensitivity of DCFPyL-PET/CT (or PET/MRI imaging if available) to NaF-PET/CT for detection of prostate cancer bone metastasis based on comparison to reference standard of care conventional imaging modalities (CIM); such as CT and whole body bone scintigraphy incorporating prior and follow-up scans and histopathology when available.

Eligibility:

Histological confirmation of prostate cancer

Age >=18 years old

Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score of 0 to 2.

Patients must have either:

  • Confirmation of prostate cancer with identifiable metastatic disease on at least 1 clinically indicated imaging modality. If there is only soft tissue metastasis, one lesion must measure at least 6 mm or greater. OR
  • Documented history of metastatic prostate cancer.

Design:

Two Cohort study

Cohort 1: Stable/Decreasing Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA): PSA must be equal to or less than 0.5 ng/mL value of the last PSA obtained (at least one month apart)

Cohort 2: Rising PSA: PSA must be greater than 0.5 ng/mL above the last PSA value obtained on at least two occasions within 1 year

Patients will undergo DCFPyL PET/CT (or PET/MRI), NaF-PET/CT, and FDG PET/CT within 21 days of each other. The order obtained does not matter.

The DCFPyL PET/CT (or PET/MRI) will be compared with the NaF-PET/CT and FDG PET/CT and standard chest/abdomen/pelvis CT.

DCFPyL PET/CT (or PET/MRI) detection of metastatic disease will be assessed by visual qualitative assessment as positive, equivocal, or negative. Sites of equivocal or positive metastatic disease will have a quantitative PET assessment (SUVmax, SUVmean).

A mandatory research biopsy will be performed under image guidance on a suspicious lesion, if feasible.

The patients will be followed yearly for 4 years by chart review, phone-call, email or any other NIH approved platform for PSA relapse and radiologic evidence of metastatic disease. Additional 18F-DCFPyL and 18F-FDG PET/CTs might be performed during the subject s follow up period there has been a considerable change in patient status (progression or response) based on PSA value, symptomatology, bone scan or CT findings.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
96

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:
  • Age greater than or equal to 18 years old
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score of 0 to 2.
  • Ability of subject to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document.
  • Patients must have confirmation of prostate cancer with identifiable metastatic disease on at least 1 clinically indicated imaging modality. If there is only soft tissue metastasis, one lesion must measure at least 6 mm or greater. OR Documented history of metastatic prostate cancer.
  • Patients must be co-enrolled on a UOB, GMB or ROB protocol
  • Histological confirmation of prostate cancer
  • Patients must be willing to undergo mandatory research biopsy

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  • Subjects for whom participating would significantly delay the scheduled standard of care therapy.
  • Subjects with any coexisting medical or psychiatric condition that is likely to interfere with study procedures and/or results.
  • Subjects with severe claustrophobia unresponsive to oral anxiolytics
  • Other medical conditions deemed by the principal investigator (or associates) to make the subject unsafe/ineligible for protocol procedures.
  • Subjects weighing greater than 350 lbs. (weight limit for scanner table), or unable to fit within the imaging gantry
  • Serum creatinine greater than 2 times the upper limit of normal

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: 1/Experimental intervention
18F-DCFPyL is administered to cohorts
Drug: 18F-NaF
Baseline IV followed by PET/CT IMAGING
Drug: 18F-DCFPyL
Baseline IV followed by PET/CT IMAGING. Additional 18F-DCFPyL PET/CTs might be performed during the subject s follow up period if, in the opinion of the referring clinician, there has been a considerable change in patient status (progression or response) based on clinical grounds/PSA value or to help assess changes of standard of care therapy.
Drug: 18F-FDG
Baseline IV followed by PET/CT IMAGING. Additional 18F-FDG PET/CTs may be obtained per PI discretion within a 21-day window relative to each 18F-DCFPyL PET/CTs.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Accuracy of DCFPyL-PET/CT diagnostics
Time Frame: 36 months
Accuracy of DCFPyL-PET/CT diagnostics
36 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PSMA expression in lesion samples from patients with presumed stable disease and actively expanding disease
Time Frame: 36 months
Correlation between PSMA expression and PSA levels
36 months
Association between PSA parameters and the number of metastases identified with DCFPyL- PET/CT (or PET/MRI imaging if available).
Time Frame: 36 months
Correlation between PSA parameters and the number of metastases identified with DCFPyL- PET/CT
36 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Peter L Choyke, M.D., National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 6, 2017

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 6, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 6, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 31, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 1, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 2, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 28, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 16, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 170089
  • 17-C-0089

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

All IPD recorded in the medical record will be shared with intramural investigators upon request. In addition, all large scale genomic sequencing data will be shared with subscribers to dbGaP.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Clinical data available during the study and indefinitely.@@@@@@Genomic data are available once genomic data are uploaded per protocol GDS plan for as long as database is active.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Clinical data will be made available via subscription to BTRIS and with the permission of the study PI. @@@@@@Genomic data are made available via dbGaP through requests to the data custodians.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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