title: Role of 11C-choline PET/CT in the re-staging of prostate cancer patients with biochemical relapse and negative results at bone scintigraphy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to evaluate the utility of (11)C-choline PET/CT in prostate cancer (PC) patients who have demonstrated a biochemical recurrence and a negative bone scintigraphy (BS).
  
  
  METHODS
  123 consecutive PC patients (mean age 67.6 years; range 54-83) with a biochemical relapse (mean PSA value 3.3ng/mL; range 0.2-25.5) after radical prostatectomy (RP) were included in our retrospective study. Patients underwent a BS that resulted negative and a (11)C-choline PET/CT within 4 months from BS (range: 1 day to 4 months; mean: 2.5 months). Validation of results was established by: (1) a positive biopsy, (2) a positive subsequent BS, CT or MR and (3) a normalization of (11)C-choline uptake after systemic therapy or a progression of the disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  (11)C-choline PET/CT was positive in 42/123 patients (34.1%). (11)C-choline PET/CT detected lesions in: bone (10 patients), lymph-nodes (20 patients), bone and lymph nodes (7 patients), bone and lung (1 patient), lymph-nodes and lung (1 patient), local relapse (3 patients). Overall, (11)C-choline PET/CT showed a total of 30 unknown bone lesions in 18/123 (14.6%) patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  (11)C-choline PET/CT showed a better sensitivity than BS in patients with biochemical relapse after RP: (11)C-choline PET/CT detected unknown bone lesions in 18/123 (14.6%) patients.
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Hematology Oncology and Laboratory Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliero - Universitaria di Bologna Policlinico Sant'Orsola - Malpighi, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fuccio
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Castellucci
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schiavina
authors.forename: Pier Luigi
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Guidalotti
authors.forename: Gilberto
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gavaruzzi
authors.forename: Gian Carlo
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Montini
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nanni
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Marzola
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rubello
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fanti
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D002794:Choline; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen; D002794:Choline