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PSMA PET/CT vs. mpMRI in Patients With a High Suspicion of Prostate Cancer: a Head to Head, Parallel, Prospective Trial

Diagnostic Performance and Clinical Impact of PSMA PET/CT vs. mpMRI in Patients With a High Suspicion of Prostate Cancer and Previously Negative Biopsy: a Head to Head, Parallel, Prospective Trial (PROSPET-BX).

Status
UNKNOWN
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05297162
Acronym
PROSPET-BX
Enrollment
128
Registered
2022-03-28
Start date
2022-04-01
Completion date
2025-01-01
Last updated
2022-04-28

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Prostate Cancer

Keywords

PSMA PET/CT, Primary Diagnosis, multiparametric MRI

Brief summary

This is prospective single-arm case-control study designed to compare in parallel PSMA PET/TRUS (trans-rectal or trans-perineal) fusion biopsy (experimental test) with mpMRI/TRUS fusion prostate biopsy (standard test) in men with a high suspicion of PCa after at least one negative biopsy.

Detailed description

All patients fulfilling inclusion criteria and providing informed consent to the study will undergo mpMRI and PSMA PET followed by software assisted fusion biopsy, performed in day-hospital setting. The inclusion criteria are: blood PSA level \>4.0ng/ml; free-to-total PSA ratio \<20%; progressive rise of PSA levels in two consecutive blood samples despite antibiotics; serum blood tests suspicious for PCa; at least one previous negative biopsy (min 12 cores); ASAP and/or high-grade PIN; negative digital rectal examination. The exclusion criteria are: antiandrogen therapy; prostate needle biopsy \<21 days before PET and/or mpMRI; known active secondary cancer; endorectal coil/probe not applicable; active prostatitis; anaphylaxis against gadolinium-DOTA. The total duration of the project is 36 months. We expect to enroll the first patient within 1 month after study activation, and complete recruitment within 30 months. Completion of all study analyses on biological materials and experimental imaging is expected within 32 months. The last period is planned for data analysis, biostatistics and manuscript preparation. All patients eligible according to inclusion criteria and having signed the informed consent will undergo 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT and mpMRI scans within one month distance from each. Dedicated software for image visualization will be used to interpret and quantify 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT SUVmax and SUVratio. Images will be analyzed by an expert nuclear physician; who will proceed to the definition of the suspicious areas candidate to biopsy. mpMRI will be evaluated by an expert radiologist using the following phases: morphological, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and spectroscopy. Reading criteria for mpMRI will be determined based on PI-RADS ver.2 \[29\]. Target delineation on PSMA PET and mpMRI will be performed as previously described \[References\]. Biopsy session will be completed within one month from 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT and mpMRI scans. Targeted TRUS-fusion needle biopsy will be performed for all lesions detected with PET and mpMRI. A subsequent randomized biopsy sampling consisting of 12 samples will be performed from the peripheral region of the prostate. The biopsy frustules will then be evaluated by an expert pathologist on PCa detection.

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TESTPSMA PET/TRUS (trans-rectal or trans-perineal) fusion biopsy

The prostate profile and ROIs will be drawn on PSMA PET and mpMRI and fused in real time with the TRUS image stack during biopsy. Biopsies, transrectal or transperineal according to lesion site, will be performed with patients in the dorsal lithotomy position, under antibiotic prophylaxis and local anesthesia, using 3D triplane transrectal ultrasound system (BK Medical, Analogic Ultrasound Group, Pro Focus, Transducer 8818, 6/9 MHz). Biopsy cores will be numbered according to ROI number and topography. Specimens will be processed and evaluated by a genitourinary pathologist. Tumor foci will be quantified and graded according to the ISUP consensus conference on Gleason grading.

Sponsors

Istituto Clinico Humanitas
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
MALE
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Age \>18 years * blood PSA level \>4.0ng/ml; * free-to-total PSA ratio \<20%; * progressive rise of PSA levels in two consecutive blood samples despite antibiotics; * serum blood tests suspicious for PCa; * at least one previous negative biopsy (min 12 cores); * ASAP and/or high-grade PIN; * negative digital rectal examination.

Exclusion criteria

* antiandrogen therapy; * prostate needle biopsy \<21 days before PET and/or mpMRI; * known active secondary cancer; * endorectal coil/probe not applicable; * active prostatitis; * anaphylaxis against gadolinium-DOTA.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Sensitivity, Specificity, NPV, PPV, Accuracy36 monthsTo evaluate the diagnostic performance of PSMA PET-TRUS fusion prostate biopsy in determining the presence of PCa in comparison to mpMRI-TRUS fusion prostate biopsy analyzed in parallel in the same subset of patients.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Standardized uptake value and Gleason Score36 monthsTo determine the correlations between the index test standardized uptake values (i.e. SUVmax, SUVratio; SUVmean) and the histopathological characteristics of the specimen (Gleason Score) in order to validate optimal cut-off points able to detect intraprostatic malignancy and differentiate clinically relevant PCa lesions.
Number of spared biopsies36 monthsTo determine the clinical utility of the index test compared to the standard test in terms of number of spared biopsies compared to mpMRI.
Cost-effectiveness36 monthsTo determine the clinical utility of the index test compared to the standard test in terms of cost-effectiveness.

Countries

Italy

Contacts

Primary ContactEgesta Lopci, MD, PhD
egesta.lopci@gmail.com+390282247542

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 7, 2026