Capromab Pendetide imaging of prostate cancer.

Capromab Pendetide imaging illustrates the successful translation of monoclonal antibody technology from the laboratory to the clinic. It provides a means of identifying otherwise occult soft tissue metastases in patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate. When utilized with other clinical, pathological and laboratory findings, Capromab Pendetide imaging enables more accurate disease staging and monitoring than is afforded by other imaging modalities such as CT and MRI. In the primary disease setting Capromab Pendetide imaging should be reserved for use in patients with negative bone scans who are at high risk for metastatic disease based on such factors as advanced clinical stage, high Gleason score and significantly elevated serum PSA or alkaline phosphatase. Due to low sensitivity for small-volume disease, a negative Mab scan may not eliminate the need for a staging lymph node dissection but should encourage further consideration of local treatment options. Capromab Pendetide should be used with caution in patients at low risk for metastatic disease. Positive scan findings in low risk patients should be confirmed before altering the treatment plan since some false positive scans should be anticipated in a population with low disease prevalence. Capromab Pendetide imaging has not been shown to be reliable in determining the local extent of the primary tumor but new techniques involving co-registration of SPECT and CT images show promise in this regard. In the patient with recurrent disease following primary therapy, the predictive value of Capromab Pendetide imaging of the prostate or prostate fossa is limited, particularly following RT. Its more important role in this setting is to identify lymph node metastases in the high risk patient with a negative bone scan who might otherwise be a candidate for local salvage therapy. A large prospective study is needed for confirmation, but preliminary data suggest that Capromab Pendetide imaging is helpful in identifying those patients with PSA elevation after radical prostatectomy who are most likely to benefit from salvage RT. As with any imaging technique, Capromab Pendetide has strengths and weaknesses that must be understood to maximize patient benefit by utilizing the scan in clinical settings where it is most likely to be useful and least likely to be misleading. Capromab Pendetide is a technically demanding procedure best performed and interpreted at sites with experience and expertise.