PSMA PET/CT for treatment response evaluation at predefined time points is superior to PSA response for predicting survival in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients.
In metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), using serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels to evaluate treatment response is not always accurate. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of PSMA PET/CT at specific time points for evaluating treatment response and predicting survival in mCRPC patients, compared to PSA.
Sixty mCRPC patients underwent [18F]PSMA-1007 PET/CT at baseline and for treatment response evaluation of either androgen receptor-targeted agents (after 3 months) or chemotherapy (after completion), and were retrospectively analysed. Visual assessment categorised overall response and response of the worst responding lesion as partial response, stable disease, or progressive disease, using the EAU/EANM criteria. Additionally, percentage changes in SUVmax, total tumour volume and total lesion uptake (tumour volume * SUVmean) were calculated. PSA response was defined according to the PCWG3 criteria. Cox regression analysis identified predictors of overall survival.
PSMA PET/CT and PSA response were discordant in 47 % of patients, and PSMA PET/CT response was worse in 89 % of these cases. Overall response on PSMA PET/CT independently predicted overall survival (progression versus non-progression: HR = 4.05, p < 0.001), outperforming PSA response (progression versus non-progression: HR = 2.53, p = 0.010) and other PSMA PET/CT parameters. Among patients with a PSA decline of > 50 %, 31 % showed progressive disease on PSMA PET/CT, correlating with higher mortality risk (progression versus non-progression: HR = 4.38, p = 0.008). No flare in PSMA uptake was observed in this cohort.
PSMA PET/CT for assessing treatment response at predefined time points was superior to PSA-based response for predicting overall survival in mCRPC patients treated with androgen receptor-targeted agents and chemotherapy. PSMA PET/CT showed the ability to detect disease progression earlier than PSA levels, which can affect treatment decisions and has the potential to improve patient outcomes. We recommend further research to validate these findings in larger patient cohorts, to extend the number of treatments, and to evaluate cost-effectiveness and impact on patient outcomes.
Kleiburg F
,de Geus-Oei LF
,Luelmo SAC
,Spijkerman R
,Goeman JJ
,Toonen FAJ
,Smit F
,van der Hulle T
,Heijmen L
... -
《-》
Prognostic Significance of Baseline Clinical and [68Ga]Ga-PSMA PET Derived Parameters on Biochemical Response, Overall Survival, and PSA Progression-Free Survival in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (mCRPC) Patients Undergoing [177Lu]Lu-PSM
In this study, we sought to identify the clinical baseline characteristics and pre-therapy 68Ga-PSMA PET derived parameters that can have impact on PSA (biochemical) response, OS and PSA PFS in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who undergo RLT with [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617.
Various pre-treatment clinical and PSMA PET derived parameters were gathered and computed. We used PSA response as the criteria for more than a 50% decrease in PSA level, and OS and PSA PFS as endpoints. We assessed the collected parameters in relation to PSA response. Additionally, we employed univariable Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis with log rank to evaluate the influence of the parameters on OS and PFS.
A total of 125 mCRPC patients were included in this study. The median age was 68 years (range: 49-89). Among the cases, 77 patients (62%) showed PSARS, while 48 patients (38%) did not show PSA response. The median OS was 14 months (range: 1-60), and the median PSA-PFS was 10 months (range: 1-56). Age, prior history of chemotherapy, and SUVmax had a significant impact on PSA response (p<0.05). PSA response, RBC count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), number of metastases, wbPSMA-TV, and wbTL-PSMA significantly affected OS. GS, platelet count, NLR, and number of metastases were found to have a significant impact on PSA PFS.
We have identified several baseline clinical and PSMA PET derived parameters that can serve as prognostic factors for predicting PSA response, OS, and PSA PFS after RLT. Based on the findings, we believe that these clinical baseline characteristics can assist nuclear medicine specialists in identifying RLT responders who have long-term survival and PFS.
Jafari E
,Manafi-Farid R
,Ahmadzadehfar H
,Salek F
,Jokar N
,Keshavarz A
,Divband G
,Dadgar H
,Zohrabi F
,Assadi M
... -
《-》
Outcomes for Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer and Liver Metastasis Receiving [(177)Lu]Lu-PSMA-617.
It is well known that patients with liver metastasis from metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer have poor or only transient responses to many forms of systemic therapy. Data on outcomes after treatment with [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 (LuPSMA) are scarce. The VISION trial reports a hazard ratio for overall survival (OS) in the subgroup of patients with liver metastasis without disclosing the absolute duration of survival. Using real-world clinical data, we examined this important subgroup of patients, describing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response and OS. Methods: A single-institution database was assembled to include all patients receiving LuPSMA at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for whom treatment was initiated between March 2022 and March 2023. Baseline clinicopathologic and imaging characteristics were abstracted. Patients were then categorized by presence or absence of liver metastasis on pretreatment prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET. PSA response and OS for the 2 groups (liver metastasis vs. no liver metastasis) were compared using χ2 testing and the Kaplan-Meier method, respectively. A multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed, including established prognostic factors. Finally, those with pretreatment circulating tumor DNA as determined in an 83-gene panel were assessed for the presence of pathogenic and likely pathogenic alterations. These findings were summarized using descriptive statistics and compared between the 2 cohorts using the Fisher exact test. Results: The overall cohort consisted of 273 patients, including 43 (15.75%) with liver metastasis on pretreatment PSMA PET/CT. The median number of cycles received was 3 (range, 1-6) for patients with liver metastasis and 5 (range, 1-6) for those without hepatic involvement. The 50% or greater reduction in PSA from baseline response rate was lower for those with liver metastasis than for those without (30.23% [13/43] vs 49.77% [106/213], P = 0.019). At a median follow-up of 10 mo (interquartile range, 9-13 mo), there was a significant difference in median OS (8.35 mo vs. not reached, P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, the presence of liver metastasis was independently associated with shorter survival (hazard ratio, 4.06; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Our data suggest that the presence of liver metastasis predicts poorer outcomes in patients receiving LuPSMA treatment. Alternative and combination approaches should be explored to maximize the antitumor activity of radiopharmaceutical therapy in the liver.
Muniz M
,Sartor O
,Orme JJ
,Koch RM
,Rosenow HR
,Mahmoud AM
,Andrews JR
,Kase AM
,Riaz IB
,Belge Bilgin G
,Thorpe MP
,Kendi AT
,Johnson GB
,Ravi P
,Kwon ED
,Childs DS
... -
《-》
Comparison of Two Modern Survival Prediction Tools, SORG-MLA and METSSS, in Patients With Symptomatic Long-bone Metastases Who Underwent Local Treatment With Surgery Followed by Radiotherapy and With Radiotherapy Alone.
Survival estimation for patients with symptomatic skeletal metastases ideally should be made before a type of local treatment has already been determined. Currently available survival prediction tools, however, were generated using data from patients treated either operatively or with local radiation alone, raising concerns about whether they would generalize well to all patients presenting for assessment. The Skeletal Oncology Research Group machine-learning algorithm (SORG-MLA), trained with institution-based data of surgically treated patients, and the Metastases location, Elderly, Tumor primary, Sex, Sickness/comorbidity, and Site of radiotherapy model (METSSS), trained with registry-based data of patients treated with radiotherapy alone, are two of the most recently developed survival prediction models, but they have not been tested on patients whose local treatment strategy is not yet decided.
(1) Which of these two survival prediction models performed better in a mixed cohort made up both of patients who received local treatment with surgery followed by radiotherapy and who had radiation alone for symptomatic bone metastases? (2) Which model performed better among patients whose local treatment consisted of only palliative radiotherapy? (3) Are laboratory values used by SORG-MLA, which are not included in METSSS, independently associated with survival after controlling for predictions made by METSSS?
Between 2010 and 2018, we provided local treatment for 2113 adult patients with skeletal metastases in the extremities at an urban tertiary referral academic medical center using one of two strategies: (1) surgery followed by postoperative radiotherapy or (2) palliative radiotherapy alone. Every patient's survivorship status was ascertained either by their medical records or the national death registry from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Administration. After applying a priori designated exclusion criteria, 91% (1920) were analyzed here. Among them, 48% (920) of the patients were female, and the median (IQR) age was 62 years (53 to 70 years). Lung was the most common primary tumor site (41% [782]), and 59% (1128) of patients had other skeletal metastases in addition to the treated lesion(s). In general, the indications for surgery were the presence of a complete pathologic fracture or an impending pathologic fracture, defined as having a Mirels score of ≥ 9, in patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification of less than or equal to IV and who were considered fit for surgery. The indications for radiotherapy were relief of pain, local tumor control, prevention of skeletal-related events, and any combination of the above. In all, 84% (1610) of the patients received palliative radiotherapy alone as local treatment for the target lesion(s), and 16% (310) underwent surgery followed by postoperative radiotherapy. Neither METSSS nor SORG-MLA was used at the point of care to aid clinical decision-making during the treatment period. Survival was retrospectively estimated by these two models to test their potential for providing survival probabilities. We first compared SORG to METSSS in the entire population. Then, we repeated the comparison in patients who received local treatment with palliative radiation alone. We assessed model performance by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), calibration analysis, Brier score, and decision curve analysis (DCA). The AUROC measures discrimination, which is the ability to distinguish patients with the event of interest (such as death at a particular time point) from those without. AUROC typically ranges from 0.5 to 1.0, with 0.5 indicating random guessing and 1.0 a perfect prediction, and in general, an AUROC of ≥ 0.7 indicates adequate discrimination for clinical use. Calibration refers to the agreement between the predicted outcomes (in this case, survival probabilities) and the actual outcomes, with a perfect calibration curve having an intercept of 0 and a slope of 1. A positive intercept indicates that the actual survival is generally underestimated by the prediction model, and a negative intercept suggests the opposite (overestimation). When comparing models, an intercept closer to 0 typically indicates better calibration. Calibration can also be summarized as log(O:E), the logarithm scale of the ratio of observed (O) to expected (E) survivors. A log(O:E) > 0 signals an underestimation (the observed survival is greater than the predicted survival); and a log(O:E) < 0 indicates the opposite (the observed survival is lower than the predicted survival). A model with a log(O:E) closer to 0 is generally considered better calibrated. The Brier score is the mean squared difference between the model predictions and the observed outcomes, and it ranges from 0 (best prediction) to 1 (worst prediction). The Brier score captures both discrimination and calibration, and it is considered a measure of overall model performance. In Brier score analysis, the "null model" assigns a predicted probability equal to the prevalence of the outcome and represents a model that adds no new information. A prediction model should achieve a Brier score at least lower than the null-model Brier score to be considered as useful. The DCA was developed as a method to determine whether using a model to inform treatment decisions would do more good than harm. It plots the net benefit of making decisions based on the model's predictions across all possible risk thresholds (or cost-to-benefit ratios) in relation to the two default strategies of treating all or no patients. The care provider can decide on an acceptable risk threshold for the proposed treatment in an individual and assess the corresponding net benefit to determine whether consulting with the model is superior to adopting the default strategies. Finally, we examined whether laboratory data, which were not included in the METSSS model, would have been independently associated with survival after controlling for the METSSS model's predictions by using the multivariable logistic and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses.
Between the two models, only SORG-MLA achieved adequate discrimination (an AUROC of > 0.7) in the entire cohort (of patients treated operatively or with radiation alone) and in the subgroup of patients treated with palliative radiotherapy alone. SORG-MLA outperformed METSSS by a wide margin on discrimination, calibration, and Brier score analyses in not only the entire cohort but also the subgroup of patients whose local treatment consisted of radiotherapy alone. In both the entire cohort and the subgroup, DCA demonstrated that SORG-MLA provided more net benefit compared with the two default strategies (of treating all or no patients) and compared with METSSS when risk thresholds ranged from 0.2 to 0.9 at both 90 days and 1 year, indicating that using SORG-MLA as a decision-making aid was beneficial when a patient's individualized risk threshold for opting for treatment was 0.2 to 0.9. Higher albumin, lower alkaline phosphatase, lower calcium, higher hemoglobin, lower international normalized ratio, higher lymphocytes, lower neutrophils, lower neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lower platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, higher sodium, and lower white blood cells were independently associated with better 1-year and overall survival after adjusting for the predictions made by METSSS.
Based on these discoveries, clinicians might choose to consult SORG-MLA instead of METSSS for survival estimation in patients with long-bone metastases presenting for evaluation of local treatment. Basing a treatment decision on the predictions of SORG-MLA could be beneficial when a patient's individualized risk threshold for opting to undergo a particular treatment strategy ranged from 0.2 to 0.9. Future studies might investigate relevant laboratory items when constructing or refining a survival estimation model because these data demonstrated prognostic value independent of the predictions of the METSSS model, and future studies might also seek to keep these models up to date using data from diverse, contemporary patients undergoing both modern operative and nonoperative treatments.
Level III, diagnostic study.
Lee CC
,Chen CW
,Yen HK
,Lin YP
,Lai CY
,Wang JL
,Groot OQ
,Janssen SJ
,Schwab JH
,Hsu FM
,Lin WH
... -
《-》