Complimentary role of FDG-PET imaging and skeletal scintigraphy in the evaluation of patients of prostate carcinoma

Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignancies of elderly males. Management depends on the accurate estimation of disease both at initial diagnosis and in its subsequent course. In the present study, we evaluated the diagnostic utility of positron emission tomography with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) in patients having prostate cancer. The findings were compared with the results of bone scan (BS) for the detection of bone metastases. Sixteen patients (age range, 55-83 years) with confirmed diagnosis of prostate cancer were included in the prospective study. Three patients had undergone bilateral orchidectomy, 1 had hormonal therapy, 9 had undergone both, and 3 had no therapy. All the patients underwent wholebody BS and FDG-PET within 1 week. Interpretation of BS and FDG-PET were performed qualitatively. Osseous abnormalities detected by both methods were compared. Involvement of the disease in other sites as seen on FDG-PET was also noted. BS detected 197 osseous lesions, whereas FDG-PET could detect 97 (49%) bone lesions. However, in 3 patients without any prior therapeutic intervention, FDG-PET results were superior or equivalent to that of BS. FDG-PET also detected extensive involvement of the disease in the bone marrow in 4 patients, lymph node metastases at various sites in 8, liver metastases in 2, and lung metastases in 1 patient. FDG-PET could demonstrate less number of osseous metastases in comparison with BSs, but the results have to be interpreted in the background of prior treatment administered and the tumor biology of the lesion. It is evident that FDG-PET could detect the unknown soft tissue involvement of the disease with good sensitivity, which might play an important role in the management of prostate cancer. Overall, in the absence of novel PET tracers, both skeletal scintigraphy and FDG-PET imaging can play a complimentary role in the management of prostate cancer.