Half of prostate cancer patients have treatment plan changed following 2nd PSMA-PET scan

A new study shows that a second PSMA-PET scan can change treatment in about half of all previously treated prostate cancer patients. (Image created by WIX AI)

CANCER DIGEST – July 13, 2026 – A second PSMA-PET scan for both local and distant prostate cancer resulted in a change in treatment for nearly 50 percent of prostate cancer patients following initial treatment.

The study analysis, led by Ur Metser, BSc, MD, FRCPC, professor of radiology at the University of Toronto looked at the records of 210 patients from the Canadian Registry for Recurrent Prostate Cancer in Ontario. The study results were published in the July 2026, Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Managing recurrent prostate cancer after first-line therapy, such as surgery or radiation has been a clinical challenge. Even when patients have no detectable cancer after undergoing initial imaging with PSMA-PET, some 30 percent have rising PSA tests indicating recurrence.

“The findings in this study further strengthen the pivotal role of PSMA-PET in the management of men with recurrence of prostate cancer after first-line therapy,” said Metser in a press release. “Understanding the extent of disease in patients who have initial negative PSMA-PET scans provides valuable information for physicians as they create treatment plans.”

The results of the analysis showed evidence of recurrent cancer in 56 percent of patients who had a second PSMA-PET scan after no cancer was shown on their initial scan. Of that 56 percent, a change in treatment was deemed necessary for 50 percent of them by the doctors treating those patients.

They also found that repeat imaging was most likely to detect cancer in those patients whose PSA levels were rising and had a PSA doubling time of less than 12 months.

PSMA, short for prostate specific membrane antigen and PET or positron emission tomography, is among the most sensitive imaging tests for metastatic cancer allowing doctors to identify tiny tumors distant in the body from the primary cancer that traditional MRI or CT scans can’t pick up.

While PSMA-PET scans are highly sensitive, debate remains about when or if to treat such microscopic metastases and altering therapy does not automatically equate to increased survival. So the question is whether the cost of PSMA-PET and the potential side effects of the test are warranted. The authors of this study hope the results will help clinicians make that decision.

Source: EurekAlert press release