Comparison of (68)Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT with mpMRI for preoperative lymph node staging in patients with intermediate to high-risk prostate cancer

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the diagnostic value of (68)Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT with multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) for lymph node (LN) staging in patients with intermediate- to high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) with pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND). METHODS: We retrospectively identified 42 consecutive patients with intermediate- to high-risk PCa according to D′Amico and without concomitant cancer. Preoperative (68)Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT, pelvic mpMRI and subsequent robot assisted laparoscopic RP with PLND were performed in all patients. RESULTS: Among 42 patients assessed, the preoperative PSA value, Gleason score, pT stage and intraprostatic PCa volume of patients with LN metastases were all significantly higher than those without metastases (P = 0.029, 0.028, 0.004, respectively). The average maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) of (68)Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT positive PCa of patients with or without LN metastases were 13.10 (range 6.12–51.75) and 7.22 (range 5.4–11.2), respectively (P < 0.001). (68)Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT and pelvic mpMRI had the ability of succeed on preoperative definite accurate diagnosis and accurate localization of primary PCa in all 42 patients. Fifteen patients (35.71%) had a pN1 stage. 51 positive LN were found. Both (68)Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT and pelvic mpMRI displayed brillient patient-based and region-based sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value. There was no statistical difference for the detection of LNMs according to the diameter of the LNMs between (68)Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT and mpMRI in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Both (68)Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT and mpMRI performed great value for LN staging in patients with intermediate- to high-risk PCa undergoing RP with PLND. However, despite excellent performance of (68)Ga-PSMA-11 PET-CT, it cannot replace mpMRI that remains excellent for lymph node staging.