This is just the third year that RSNA has offered a dedicated track on nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, with eight scientific sessions covering research in prostate cancer imaging, breast cancer, cardiovascular and pulmonary imaging, and more. There will be also 30 educational courses and 14 poster sessions. Notably, this is the first year a scientific session is being offered that covers advances in AI in nuclear medicine.
Presentations on PET imaging in prostate cancer – an approach that is witnessing widespread adoption – include an array of studies on prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-based radiotracers. However, experts note that up to 10% of prostate cancers do not express PSMA. Thus, we highlighted a study in this year’s Road to RSNA that will present phase II/III trial results of a gallium-68 (Ga-68) tracer that targets gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPR), which are also overexpressed in these tumors.
Despite these advances, prognostication of prostate cancer patient outcomes remains challenging. Can AI help? At least one study suggests so, with a deep-learning model to be presented that predicts patient treatment response based on F-18 DCFPyL PSMA-PET/CT imaging.
Still, PET imaging in breast cancer may be among this year’s hottest topics, with studies suggesting FDG-PET/MRI may be reliable in newly diagnosed patients and another revealing which potential tracer is more effective in women with metastatic lesions, namely F-18 fluciclovine or Ga-68 PSMA.
In addition, hybrid PET/MRI imaging remains an exciting area, with several studies – notably, two in children we have highlighted here – that will discuss the benefits of combining functional and anatomical findings.
For more information on the presentations we're highlighting below and other abstracts, take a look at the RSNA 2023 meeting program.
Ga-68 RM2-PET effective in prostate cancer relapse cases
Sunday, November 26 | 9:20 a.m.-9:30 a.m. | S1-SSNMMI01-3 | Room E350
Gallium-68 (Ga-68) RM2-PET imaging should be considered in patients with biochemical recurrent prostate cancer to aid in disease detection and management decisions, according to a study to be presented in this session.
Which approach is best in newly diagnosed breast cancer?
Monday, November 27 | 8:30 a.m.-8:40 a.m. | M1-SSNMMI02-4 | Room E350
A study will be presented in this session that compared whole-body MRI, whole-body F-18 FDG-PET/MRI, and conventional imaging (CT, axillary sonography, and bone scintigraphy) for staging women with newly diagnosed breast cancer.
F-18 fluciclovine vs. Ga-68 PSMA: Which tracer is superior in metastatic breast cancer?
Monday, November 27 | 8:40 a.m.-8:50 a.m. | M1-SSNMMI02-5 | Room E350
F-18 fluciclovine PET/CT imaging results in greater metastases detection in women with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast than gallium-68 (Ga-68) prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-PET/CT, while both are superior to conventional imaging, according to this presentation.
Ultra-early phase scintigraphy detects ATTR cardiac amyloidosis
Tuesday, November 28 | 4:40 p.m.-4:50 p.m. | T8-SSNMMI04-2 | Room E353C
Bone scintigraphy can detect transthyretin protein accumulation associated with cardiac amyloidosis just five minutes after patients are injected with technetium-99m pyrophosphate radiotracer, according to research to be presented in this session.
PET/CT shows value in patients after thoracic vascular graft surgery
Tuesday, November 28 | 5:00 p.m.-5:10 p.m. | T8-SSNMMI04-4 | Room E353C
PET/CT imaging in patients after thoracic aortic graft surgery reveals F-18 FDG radiotracer uptake patterns that can indicate infections, according to a presentation in this session.
FDG-PET reveals patterns in newly recognized fused in sarcoma proteinopathy
Wednesday, November 29 | 8:20 a.m.-8:30 a.m. | W1-SSNMMI05-3 | E350
FDG-PET may help differentiate patients with fused in sarcoma, a newly recognized proteinopathy causing progressive dementia, from those with Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia, according to this presentation.
Can FDG-PET/MRI radiomics help diagnose rhabdomyosarcoma in children?
Thursday, November 30 | 8:10 a.m.-8:20 a.m. | R1-SSNMMI07-2 | Room S403A
In this session on pediatrics and general oncology, a study will be presented that explored the value of F-18 FDG-PET/MRI radiomics features in predicting rhabdomyosarcoma in children.
Does contrast media used with PET/MRI make a difference?
Thursday, November 30 | 8:20 a.m.-8:30 a.m. | R1-SSNMMI07-3 | Room S403A
Findings presented during this session suggest that the use of MRI contrast agents during PET/MRI exams has no additional positive benefit for primary and follow-up staging of pediatric lymphoma patients.
Can AI predict treatment response in patients with prostate cancer?
Thursday, November 30 | 1:40 p.m.-1:50 p.m. | R6-SSNMMI08-2 | Room S403A
An AI model based on F-18 DCFPyL PSMA-PET/CT images will be presented here that shows promise for predicting treatment response in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).