Positron-emission tomography in urooncology

The use of positron emission tomography (PET) is an established method for the diagnosis of urological malignancies. Several tracers are currently available to obtain metabolic information or directly detect molecular targets. While F-18-FDG-PET is recognized in current guidelines for the staging of seminoma, PET is not used in clinical routine in renal malignancies due to the lack of specific tracers. Despite initial promising results in bladder cancer, no relevant additional diagnostic value with PET using F-18-FDG or choline-based tracers could be obtained in most patients and therefore should be used with caution or only within clinical trials. In prostate cancer, however, after development of new tracers that, for example, target prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a paradigm shift in imaging can be recognized. Here, Ga-68-PSMA-PET might be included in the future as part of standard imaging work-up.