Abstract
Previous studies have indicated that (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in biochemical recurrence (BCR) patients with poorly differentiated prostate adenocarcinoma had higher diagnostic sensitivity than those with well differentiated adenocarcinoma, but whether the performance of FDG PET can achieve the effect of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET in BCR patients with a high Gleason score remains poorly understood. This study aimed to compare the efficacies of (18)F-FDG PET/CT and (68)Ga-PSMA PET/CT for BCR patients and evaluate whether (18)F-FDG PET was not inferior to (68)Ga-PSMA PET for detecting BCR with a high Gleason score. This was a retrospective, head-to-head comparative study completed at Ren Ji Hospital between May 2018 and June 2021. Patients underwent both (18)F-FDG and (68)Ga-PSMA PET/CT. The detection rate of BCR at the patient level and at the anatomical region level was evaluated. In total, 145 patients were enrolled in this study. (18)F-FDG PET/CT (24.1%, 35/145) had lower detection rates than (68)Ga-PSMA PET/CT (59.3%, 86/145; p < 0.001) at the patient level and at any anatomical region (p < 0.05). The PSA level (p < 0.001, OR = 11.026, 95% CI: 3.214-37.824) and the Gleason score (p < 0.001, OR = 20.227, 95% CI: 5.741-71.267) were independent predictive factors of the detection rate on (18)F-FDG PET/CT, while the PSA level (p < 0.001, OR = 4.862, 95% CI: 2.338-10.110) was the only predictor of the detection rate on (68)Ga-PSMA PET/CT. (18)F-FDG PET/CT had a similar detection rate as (68)Ga-PSMA PET/CT in patients with a Gleason score of 9 at the patient level (64.3% vs. 71.4%, p = 0.567) and any anatomical region (all p > 0.05), but (18)F-FDG PET/CT had a lower detection rate than (68)Ga-PSMA PET/CT in patients with a Gleason score of 6-8. (18)F-FDG PET is not inferior to (68)Ga-PSMA PET for detecting BCR with a Gleason score of 9; therefore, (18)F-FDG PET/CT could be considered in BCR patients with a Gleason score of 9. However, (68)Ga-PSMA is a better tracer than (18)F-FDG in PET/CT for treatment decision making in BCR patients with a Gleason score of 6-8.