18F-PSMA PET/CT Versus CT Alone in Assessment of Prostatic Cancer Patients

March 17, 2026 updated by: Maram Mostafa Shafeek, Assiut University

18F-PSMA PET/CT Versus CT Alone in Initial Staging, Assessment of Therapy Response and Evaluation of Biochemical Recurrence in Prostatic Cancer Patients

To compare the diagnostic performance of 18-F PSMA PET/CT and CT alone in initial staging, assessment of therapy response, as well as evaluation of biochemical recurrence of prostatic cancer patients

The main question it aims to answer is:

Does 18-F PSMA PET/CT have a superior role over CT in evaluation of prostatic cancer patients?

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Prostate cancer represents the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in men worldwide and accounts for approximately 30% of all new male cancer diagnoses in 2025, with recent data highlighting a significant 3% annual increase in incidence rates, particularly in advanced-stage disease[1]. The accurate staging and restaging of prostate cancer (PCa) are critical for determining the optimal therapeutic approach, particularly in detecting nodal or distant metastases [2]. The Gleason score and Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) levels serve as the foundational pillars for the clinical staging and initial risk stratification of prostate cancer. The Gleason score, which evaluates the histological architecture and cellular differentiation of prostate tissue from a biopsy, is calculated by summing the two most prevalent cancer patterns (yielding scores typically ranging from 6 to 10) [3]. Concurrently, the serum PSA level acts as a biochemical marker reflecting the overall volume and activity of the prostatic disease [3,4]. Computed Tomography (CT) has been the standard imaging modality for assessment of metastatic sites; however, it relies primarily on anatomy, such as lymph node size and shape, which often leads to low sensitivity in detecting early-stage or micrometastatic disease[5]. Recently, in response to these limitations the landscape has shifted toward molecular imaging with PSMA-targeted imaging using PET/CT which targets the Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) -a protein significantly overexpressed in malignant prostate cells-allowing for the detection of lesions independent of their anatomical size [6]. Evidence suggests that PSMA PET/CT provides superior diagnostic accuracy, higher sensitivity, and better specificity compared to CT alone, often leading to a change in clinical management for a substantial percentage of patients[2,7]. Additionally, the clinical utility of 18-F PSMA PET/CT is significantly enhanced by its capacity for calculating quantitative analysis. Metrics such as the maximum Standardized Uptake Value (SUVmax), PSMA-derived tumor volume (PSMA-TV), and total lesion PSMA (TL-PSMA) provide an objective, reproducible assessment of disease burden [8]. In this study, we aim to compare the diagnostic performance of 18-F PSMA PET/CT and CT alone in staging, assessment of therapy response, as well as evaluation of biochemical recurrence

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

59

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with known prostate cancer referred for doing 18F-PSMA PET/CT as a part of their initial evaluation, assessing of therapy response, or detection of suspected biochemical recurrence

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients with known prostate cancer referred for 18-F PSMA PET/CT study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with claustrophobia
  • Patients refuse to do the scan

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

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Comparing 18-F PSMA PET/CT and CT in evaluation of prostatic cancer patients
Time Frame: 2 years
Comparison of diagnostic performance of 18-F PSMA PET/CT and CT in staging, assessment of therapy response and evaluation of biochemical recurrence
2 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Correlation between quantitative measures and other clinical, pathological and laboratory measures
Time Frame: 2 years
Correlation between quantitative measures and tumor burden of 18-F PSMA PET/CT with clinical, pathological and laboratory data including serum PSA, and Gleason Score
2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Assiut University

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

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 (Estimated)

May 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 17, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 18F PSMA PET/CT

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

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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