NEWLY DIAGNOSED PROSTATE CANCER GUIDE
Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) PSMA is a protein found on the surface of normal prostate cells, but it is found in higher amounts on prostate cancer cells. It is present in more than 80% of prostate cancer cells in men with prostate cancer. PSMA has been the subject of extensive and promising research over the last several decades. It is now used as a target for imaging to diagnose metastatic or recurrent prostate cancer, and it is also being explored as a target for medications that can treat prostate cancer. This dual purpose is why some refer to PSMA as a “theranostic” - a combination of the terms “therapeutics” and “diagnostics”. How is PSMA Targeted for Detecting Prostate Cancer? A PSMA PET (positron emission tomography) scan is an imaging procedure used to help detect prostate cancer cells within the body. For this procedure, a radioactive agent is injected into the bloodstream prior to the PET scan. The agent then attaches to the PSMA protein on the prostate cancer cells. Once there, it glows in the PET images that are taken to indicate where prostate cancer cells that have traveled outside the prostate may be. This procedure allows prostate cancer cells to be found that may not have been picked up on traditional scans like CT scans and bone scans. Multiple PSMA PET imaging agents are now approved by the FDA for use in patients whose prostate cancer has recurred or spread. How is PSMA Targeted for Treating Prostate Cancer? Targeting PSMA proteins on a prostate cancer cell enables treatments to be focused on the cancer cell itself, rather than on normal healthy cells in the body, allowing a precision medicine approach to treatment. PSMA targeted therapies will likely be made available to patients who have PSMA protein detected on their cancer cells using a PSMA PET scan. The FDA has approved a drug for the treatment of PSMA-positive mHRPC, and other forms of treatment that target PSMA are being developed.
Questions For Your Doctor
Is the PSMA PET scan right for me? Do you offer PSMA PET scans? Are they covered by my health insurance?
Is exposure to the radioactive agent in a PSMA PET safe? Is PSMA targeted therapy a treatment option for me? What are the side effects of PSMA targeted therapy?
Learn more at zerocancer.org/targeted-therapy .
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