Prostate Cancer Screening
Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer affecting men in the United States — an estimated one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetimes.
If you have prostate cancer, you’re not alone. In fact, more than 3.1 million American men are currently living with the disease. While this may be an uncertain time, the information on this page can help you and your loved ones understand what's ahead to help make informed choices.
Initial prostate cancer diagnosis
As part of your initial diagnosis, your provider determines your risk group, which helps inform an appropriate treatment plan. There are five prostate cancer risk groups to be aware of: very low, low, intermediate, high, and very high. Approximately 288,300 new prostate cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2023.
Recurrent prostate cancer
Even though initial treatment for prostate cancer can be curative, up to 50% of patients experience a return of the disease within 10 years, also known as a recurrence.
If you’ve received treatment for prostate cancer — such as surgery, radiation, or hormone therapy — your provider will monitor your overall health and run a variety of tests, including one that checks your prostate-specific antigen, or PSA level. If the test confirms an elevated PSA level, this means the cancer may have returned, or recurred.
Your provider may schedule an imaging scan to help determine where the prostate cancer is and if it has spread. Imaging scans are important even when PSA levels are still very low.
Prostate cancer assessment
With the imaging scan, your provider will then assess if the cancer has: remained in the prostate and pelvic area, spread into nearby lymph nodes, or reached other parts of the body. This information will help guide your doctor in the selection of an appropriate treatment.
When detected early, five-year survival rates for prostate cancer found in the prostate area can be as high as 100%, which is why ongoing screenings are important. Having more information about the different imaging options and steps may help relieve any concerns you have about what's involved.
Detect prostate cancer clearly with PYLARIFY
Prostate cancer imaging plays a vital role in helping to detect and monitor prostate cancer progression. There are several types of imaging tests, however, not all imaging scans are the same.
A PET scan is often combined with a CT scan for better diagnostic accuracy. Compared to conventional imaging — such as bone, CT, and MRI scans–a PET/CT scan with PYLARIFY® (piflufolastat F 18) injection provides you and your provider a clearer image of where the prostate cancer is and helps your doctor make more informed treatment choices.
PYLARIFY® is an advanced diagnostic imaging agent used with PET/CT scans to find tumors in the prostate, lymph nodes, bones and other organs, typically better than other types of imaging scans. It uses a radioactive tracer called fluorine-18, or 18F, which helps create a clear and more detailed PET/CT scan image for your provider. A clearer image also provides improved insights, which can lead to more informed treatment choices.
Get PYLARIFY at CMH
The CMH-OHSU Health Urology Clinic and CMH Imaging offer men with prostate cancer targeted PET imaging with PYLARIFY. Patients interested in imaging with PYLARIFY should contact their care provider.
Important safety information
PYLARIFY® (piflufolastat F 18) Injection
Indication
PYLARIFY® (piflufolastat F 18) Injection is a radioactive diagnostic agent indicated for positron emission tomography (PET) of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positive lesions in men with prostate cancer:
- with suspected metastasis who are candidates for initial definitive therapy.
- with suspected recurrence based on elevated serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level.
Contraindications
None.
Warnings and Precautions
Risk of Image Misinterpretation
Imaging interpretation errors can occur with PYLARIFY imaging. A negative image does not rule out the presence of prostate cancer, and a positive image does not confirm the presence of prostate cancer. The performance of PYLARIFY for imaging of patients with biochemical evidence of recurrence of prostate cancer seems to be affected by serum PSA levels. The performance of PYLARIFY for imaging of metastatic pelvic lymph nodes prior to initial definitive therapy seems to be affected by risk factors such as Gleason score and tumor stage. PYLARIFY uptake is not specific for prostate cancer and may occur with other types of cancer as well as non-malignant processes and in normal tissues. Clinical correlation, which may include histopathological evaluation of the suspected prostate cancer site, is recommended.
Hypersensitivity Reactions
Monitor patients for hypersensitivity reactions, particularly patients with a history of allergy to other drugs and foods. Reactions may be delayed. Always have trained staff and resuscitation equipment available.
Radiation Risks
Diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, including PYLARIFY, expose patients to radiation. Radiation exposure is associated with a dose-dependent increased risk of cancer. Ensure safe handling and preparation procedures to protect patients and health care workers from unintentional radiation exposure. Advise patients to hydrate before and after administration and to void frequently after administration.
Adverse Reactions
The most frequently reported adverse reactions were headaches, dysgeusia and fatigue, occurring at rate of ≤2% during clinical studies with PYLARIFY.
Drug interactions
Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and other therapies targeting the androgen pathway, such as androgen receptor antagonists, may result in changes in uptake of PYLARIFY in prostate cancer. The effect of these therapies on performance of PYLARIFY PET has not been established.
To report suspected adverse reactions for PYLARIFY, call 1-800-362-2668 or contact FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.
For important risk and use information about PYLARIFY Injection, please see Full Prescribing information, on page 4.