TUESDAY, Feb. 17, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron-emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT)-guided salvage radiotherapy is associated with favorable outcomes after radical prostatectomy in patients with prostate cancer, according to a study published in the February issue of the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
John Nikitas, M.D., from the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis of five prospective PSMA PET/CT studies to examine the impact of guided management on clinical outcomes following salvage radiotherapy.
Overall, 113 patients met the inclusion criteria; patients were followed for a median of 59.4 months. The researchers found that 19, 32, 16, and 46 patients were staged as TrN0M0, N1M0, M1, and T0N0M0 on PSMA-PET/CT (16.8, 28.3, 14.2, and 40.7 percent), respectively. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) was administered to 67.3 percent of patients, and whole-pelvis radiotherapy (WPRT) was administered to 55.8 percent. Overall, 50.4 percent of patients had disease progression. Median progression-free survival (PFS) and median freedom from distant progression were 49.2 months and 76.4 months, respectively. The rate of five-year overall survival was 97.1 percent. Among patients staged as TrN0M0, WPRT was significantly associated with improved PFS (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.12); in patients staged as N1/M1, ADT was significantly associated with improved PFS (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.37).
"PSMA PET/CT scans allow us to see exactly where cancer is and tailor treatment accordingly," senior author Jeremie Calais, M.D., Ph.D., also from the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a statement. "Patients can get the therapy they need while avoiding unnecessary side effects, and even those with no visible disease can do very well with standard radiation."
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.