New Diagnostic Imaging Test For Prostate Cancer
Many people have heard of PET scans to detect the presence and location of cancer. This test typically uses a type of radioactive sugar injected into a vein, which can then be detected by a machine that creates images of the person’s body while he or she lies still on a table. A new type of radioactive tracer has been developed for prostate cancer called Axumin. Axumin is a radioactively tagged synthetic amino acid (amino acids are the building blocks for protein) that is injected into the body via a vein. Where the tracer goes in the body can be detected by a PET scan machine – usually at the same time a CT scan is obtained, known as a PET-CT scan. The radioactive physiology images are laid on top of or fused with the CT scan anatomy images to create a whole body exam that looks for prostate cancer. Axumin is officially approved by the U.S. FDA to look for prostate cancer relapse/recurrence after initial treatment. Typically, men with prostate cancer are followed with th...