Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: For patients with prostate cancer (PCa), PSMA PET better diagnose metastases than conventional imaging. In a systematic review and meta-analysis (INPLASY register, 2024311004), we aimed to summarize findings with pretreatment PSMA PET in patients with PCa that was localized according to conventional imaging and summarize how pretreatment PSMA PET had influence on biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival and overall survival (OS). METHODS: We searched for publications in Pubmed, Google Scholar, ClinicalTrials.gov, and reference lists between 2016 and February 2025. We summarized biochemical recurrence-free survival in Forest plots. RESULTS: Nine publications reported 1908 patients and showed that pretreatment PSMA PET was associated with survival. Three publications reported that pretreatment PSMA PET gave better 3-5-year BCR-free survival than conventional imaging (74% versus 57%). Two publications reported PSMA PET-risk for 389 patients. Those with PSMA PET-low-risk lived 5 years longer often than those with PSMA PET high-risk (84% versus 20%). CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment PSMA PET is widely used in the real world. Pretreatment PSMA PET supports personalized treatment and may explain why pretreatment PSMA PET improved BCR-free survival and OS. It is believed that pretreatment PSMA PET may facilitate future progress in care of patients with high-risk PCa.