Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is known to influence the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expression of prostate cancer, potentially complicating the interpretation of PSMA ligand PET findings and affecting PSMA radioligand therapy. However, the impact of ADT on PSMA ligand biodistribution in nontumorous organs is not well understood. Methods: Men (n = 112) with histologically proven prostate cancer who underwent 68Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC (68Ga-PSMA-11) PET/CT between November 2015 and July 2021 at the Medical University Vienna with known ADT status were retrospectively recruited. Fifty-six patients were on gonadotropin-releasing hormone-interfering ADT at the time of imaging (ADT group), whereas 56 patients with no history of ADT served as a control group. Physiologically PSMA-expressing organs (salivary glands, kidneys, liver, and spleen) were delineated, and their uptake was compared according to their data distributions. Multivariate regression analysis assessed the relationship between renal, hepatic, splenic, and salivary gland uptake and the explanatory variables metabolic tumor volume, glomerular filtration rate, and ADT status. Results: ADT was associated with lower levels of PSMA uptake in the kidneys (SUVmean: Δ[ADT - control] = -7.89; 95% CI, -10.73 to -5.04; P < 0.001), liver (SUVpeak: Δ[ADT - control] = -2.3; 95% CI, -5.72 to -0.93; P = 0.003), spleen (SUVpeak: Δ[ADT - control] = -1.27; 95% CI, -3.61 to -0.16; P = 0.033), and salivary glands (SUVmean: Δ[ADT - control] = -1.04; 95% CI, -2.48 to -0.13; P = 0.027). In a multivariate analysis, ADT was found to be associated with lower renal (SUVmean: β = -7.95; 95% CI, -11.06 to -4.84; P < 0.0001), hepatic (SUVpeak: β = -7.85; 95% CI, -11.78 to -3.91; P < 0.0001), splenic (SUVpeak: β = -5.83; 95% CI, -9.95 to -1.7; P = 0.006), and salivary gland (SUVmean: β = -1.47; 95% CI, -2.76 to -0.17; P = 0.027) uptake. A higher glomerular filtration rate was associated with a higher renal SUVmean (β = 0.16; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.26; P = 0.0034). Conclusion: These findings suggest that ADT systemically modulates PSMA expression, which may have implications for treatment-optimizing and side-effect-minimizing strategies for PSMA radioligand therapies, particularly those using more potent 225Ac-labeled PSMA conjugates.

Christian Doppler Laboratory for Applied Metabolomics Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image Guided Therapy Division of Nuclear Medicine Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image Guided Therapy Division of Nuclear Medicine Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria;

Department of Pathology Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Department of Urology 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Czech Republic; and

Department of Urology and Andrology University Hospital Krems Krems Austria

Department of Urology Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Department of Urology University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas Texas

Department of Urology Weill Cornell Medical College New York New York

Division of Urology Department of Special Surgery University of Jordan Amman Jordan

Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology Vienna Austria

Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences Krems Austria

QIMP Team Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria

References provided by Crossref.org

Assessment of PSMA Expression of Healthy Organs in Different Stages of Prostate Cancer Using [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11-PET Examinations