Utility of post-treatment SPECT/CT for identifying disease progression in patients with mCRPC treated with
177
Lu-PSMA-617.
Authors: Muniz Miguel , Sartor Alton Oliver , Orme Jacob , Koch Regina , Quevedo Fernando , Kase Adam McLain , Riaz Irbaz Bin , Thorpe Matthew , Kendi Ayse T. , Bilgin Gokce Belge , Nikanpour Yalda , Johnson Geoffrey , Kwon Eugene D. , Childs Daniel S 
Published: February 2025

114

Background:
Oncologists have traditionally relied upon serial assessments of PSA and periodic imaging (i.e., every 2 to 3 cycles) to monitor treatment response. Early identification of disease progression allows for faster transitions to alternative therapies that might be more effective. In this study, we evaluated the utility of post-treatment SPECT/CT for earlier detection of treatment failure in patients receiving Lutetium-177–PSMA-617 (LuPSMA).
Methods:
We queried an IRB-approved registry including all patients starting LuPSMA at Mayo Clinic, MN, in the interval of March 2022 to March 2023. Those receiving fewer than 2 cycles of treatment and missing SPECT/CT data were excluded. We reviewed clinical notes to document the date and reason(s) for treatment discontinuation. The assembled cohort consists of patients stopping LuPSMA for progressive disease ([PD], categorized as biochemical, radiographic, or both). Results of the prior SPECT/CT imaging reports were reviewed. At our institution SPECT/CT images are typically acquired on the day after each infusion. Metrics collected from the radiology reports included: new foci of PSMA localization since the prior PSMA PET or SPECT/CT, suspicion for new non-PSMA avid disease, and a visual determination of PSMA-avid tumor volume.
Results:
A total of 256 patients received an initial cycle of LuPSMA. SPECT/CT imaging data for at least 2 consecutive treatment cycles was available for 68 patients who developed PD after a median (IQR) of 3 (2-4) cycles. There were 55 patients (81%) with both biochemical and radiographic evidence of PD, 7 (10%) with biochemical only progression, and 6 (9%) with radiographic only progression. The most used imaging modality for response assessment was PSMA PET/CT (n=46, 67%), followed by conventional imaging (n=9, 13%), and choline PET/CT (n=5, 7%). The median time between most recent post-therapy SPECT/CT and determination of PD was 39 days. The prior SPECT/CT had detected new foci of PSMA avid disease in 12 (18%) cases and new non-PSMA avid disease in 5 (7%) cases. Two patients had both new PSMA-avid and non-PSMA avid lesions. The most common sites of new PSMA-avid disease on SPECT/CT were bone (n=10) and liver (n=2). A total of 20 (29%) patients had visually increased tumor volume on SPECT/CT, 9 (45%) of which had no new lesions. In total, 24 of 68 patients (35%) had early detection of treatment futility detected by SPECT/CT. At a median (IQR) follow-up time of 8 (6.4-12) mo, the median OS [95% CI] was similar for patients with PD detected on SPECT/CT (7.8 [6.6 – 9] mo) compared to those without clear evidence of PD on SPECT/CT(8.4 [6.4-10.3] mo, p=0.885).
Conclusions:
Post-treatment SPECT/CT imaging may complement traditional forms of response assessment and provide an earlier warning of treatment failure through identification of new PSMA-avid lesions, non-PSMA avid disease, and increased tumor volume.