Una herramienta de imagenología avanzada transforma el diagnóstico del cáncer de próstata en Goshen Health
Goshen Hospital Imaging is the first diagnostic imaging center in Indiana to use newly approved imaging technology to diagnose prostate cancer and stage treatment.
The diagnostic imaging test, called F-18 PSMA PET/CT scan, helps doctors pinpoint prostate cancer cells that may be hidden, even in distant parts of the body.
"Imaging plays a vital role in helping to detect and monitor prostate cancer," said Randy Christophel, Goshen Health President and Chief Executive Officer. "F-18 PSMA PET/CT scans give our physicians a clearer image of where the cancer cells are and helps patients make more informed treatment choices."
The new PET/CT scan can detect microscopic cancer cells in the prostate, lymph nodes, bones and other organs. F-18 PSMA PET/CT scans have a higher detection rate than conventional imaging and can detect microscopic metastases even at lower PSA levels.
The Food and Drug Administration approved F-18 PSMA PET/CT scans as a diagnostic tool for patients with prostate cancer in May 2021. Goshen Health's diagnostic imaging center introduced the advanced PET scan in mid-July to patients referred by doctors in Indiana and nearby states.
F-18 PSMA PET/CT scans use a radioactive targeting agent that attaches to a protein found on the surface of more than 90 percent of prostate cancer cells. Most normal cells do not have the protein, called prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA).
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men in the U.S. More than 3.1 million men currently live with prostate cancer. Each year, more than 248,500 new cases are diagnosed.