Contribution of Lower Extremity 68Ga PSMA PET/CT Imaging to Diagnosis and Treatment in Prostate Cancer.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of routine additional acquisitions for lower extremity in the diagnosis and treatment of patients undergoing 68Ga prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). Methods: The files of 59 prostate cancer patients who underwent additional acquisition of the lower extremities in addition to the vertex-upper thigh in 68Ga PSMA PET/CT studies were included in the study. In our study, patients with both lower limb acquisition on clinical suspicion and with routine lower limb acquisition were included. Along with the difference in the effectiveness of the lower limb acquisition between these two arms, the efficacy and clinical utility of the additional acquisiton were evaluated in the entire sample. Results: The rate of metastasis detected in the group with lower limb acquisiton with clinical suspicion (31.1%) is higher than in the other group (7.6%). However, metastases detected in both groups do not cause changes in the treatment. Conclusion: Considering the loss of time caused by additional acquisitons in the clinic, the radiation dose exposure of the patient and the outcomes in this study, it may be possible to say that the lower extremity acquisitons are not effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]