PET/MRI in prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim In recent years, the clinical availability of scanners for integrated positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has enabled the practical potential of multimodal, combined metabolic-receptor, anatomical, and functional imaging to be explored. The present systematic review and meta-analysis summarize the diagnostic information provided by PET/MRI in patients with prostate cancer (PCa). Materials and methods A literature search was conducted in three different databases. The terms used were choline or prostate-specific membrane antigen - PSMA AND prostate cancer or prostate AND PET/MRI or PET MRI or PET-MRI or positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging. All relevant records identified were combined, and the full texts were retrieved. Reports were excluded if (1) they did not consider hybrid PET/MRI; or (2) the sample size was < 10 patients; or (3) the raw data were not enough to enable the completion of a 2 x 2 contingency table. Results Fifty articles were eligible for systematic review, and 23 for meta-analysis. The pooled data concerned 2104 patients. Initial disease staging was the main indication for PET/MRI in 24 studies. Radiolabeled PSMA was the tracer most frequently used. In primary tumors, the pooled sensitivity for the patient-based analysis was 94.9%. At restaging, the pooled detection rate was 80.9% and was higher for radiolabeled PSMA than for choline (81.8% and 77.3%, respectively). Conclusions PET/MRI proved highly sensitive in detecting primary PCa, with a high detection rate for recurrent disease, particularly when radiolabeled PSMA was used.

Automated summary

This study summarized the diagnostic role of PET/MRI in patients with prostate cancer. The results showed that PET/MRI has high sensitivity for detecting primary PCa, especially when radiolabeled PSMA is used, and also has a high detection rate for recurrent disease.