New Imaging Technique Detects Prostate Cancer Recurrence with 70 Percent Accuracy: Study Finds - Video

A new Canadian study has shown that a novel imaging technique, prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, is significantly more effective at detecting recurrent prostate cancer than standard imaging methods—and can lead to better survival outcomes. The findings, published in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, come from a seven-year, multi-centre study.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Canadian men, and recurrence after initial treatment remains a major challenge. Traditional imaging methods, such as CT and bone scans, often fail to detect the location of returning cancer, especially when blood tests indicate recurrence but imaging cannot confirm it. To address this gap, researchers turned to PSMA PET scans, which involve injecting a radioactive molecule into a patient’s bloodstream that binds specifically to proteins found in prostate cancer cells. This makes the cancer easier to detect using PET imaging.

The study involved thousands of patients across six Ontario hospitals. Researchers found PSMA PET scans had a 70% detection rate, significantly higher than the 10–20% detection rate of conventional imaging. Importantly, the imaging results changed treatment plans in nearly 90% of patients where cancer was detected, and those whose treatments were altered based on PSMA PET results had better overall survival rates.

“This new technique gives physicians the information needed to determine the best treatment,” said Dr. Glenn Bauman, Scientist at LHSCRI and Radiation Oncologist at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). “When a blood test shows cancer has returned but standard imaging can’t find it, physicians may need to use less precise therapies like whole-body drug therapy. With this new imaging technique, we can locate the cancer and target it directly.”

Based on these promising outcomes, PSMA PET scans are now publicly funded as a standard of care for men with advanced prostate cancer in Ontario.

Reference: A Prospective Provincial Registry of 18F-PSMA PET/CT for Recurrent Prostate Cancer: Results for 4,135 Men, Andres Kohan, Ur Metser, William Luke, Mohammed Rashid, et al. Journal of Nuclear Medicine Aug 2025, 66 (8) 1223-1231; DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.125.269653