Prediction of Response to 177Lu-PSMA Therapy Based on Tumor-to-Kidney Ratio on Pretherapeutic PSMA PET/CT and Posttherapeutic Tumor-Dose Evaluation in mCRPC

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the absorbed dose of ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA in osseous versus lymphatic metastases in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer across therapy cycles and to relate those data to therapeutic success. In addition, pretherapeutic prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT was evaluated for its ability to predict response behavior. Methods: The study comprised 30 patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, each receiving at least 3 cycles of ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA therapy. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values between baseline and 6 wk after the third therapy cycle were used to classify the patients as responders (PSA decline ≥ 50%) or nonresponders (unchanged or increasing PSA level). Quantitative SPECT/CT images were acquired 24, 48, and 168 h after application of ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA. The absorbed dose for tumor lesions was calculated with dosimetry software. From the pretherapeutic PET/CT scan, the tumor-to-kidney uptake ratio was determined for different SUVs. Results: Regardless of patient response, the kidneys received a mean dose of 0.55 ± 0.20 Gy/GBq per cycle. In the first therapy cycle, the lymph node lesions received a mean dose of 3.73 ± 1.65 Gy/GBq in responders and 1.86 ± 1.25 Gy/GBq in nonresponders (P < 0.01). For bone lesions, the respective mean doses were 3.47 ± 2.00 Gy/GBq and 1.48 ± 0.95 Gy/GBq (P < 0.01). When successive therapy cycles were compared, the mean dose was found to have been reduced from the first to the second cycle by 27% for lymph nodes and by 33% for bone lesions. A significant difference (P < 0.01) in the ratio of lymph node and bone lesion uptake to kidney uptake between responders and nonresponders could be deduced from the pretherapeutic PET/CT scan. Conclusion: Significantly higher doses were achieved for lymph node and bone lesions in responders. The highest absorbed dose, for both lymphatic and osseous lesions, was achieved in the first cycle, decreasing in the second therapy cycle thereafter despite unchanged therapy activities. It may be possible to estimate the response to therapy from the ratio of tumor uptake to kidney uptake obtained from the pretherapeutic PSMA PET/CT scans.

Keywords: PSMA therapy; dosimetry; prediction of therapy response; prostate cancer.