Novel Imaging in Staging of Primary Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common cancer among men and one quarter of diagnosed PC are metastatic at the time of diagnosis. Accurate staging is paramount as the stage is the most important factor when treatment decisions are made. The stage is also the single most important prognostic factor. Currently, traditional imaging methods for detection of PC metastasis, including bone scan (BS) and contrast enhanced whole-body computer tomography (CT), are rather inaccurate. Respectively, novel imaging techniques are evolving and novel imaging modalities are emerging in PC diagnostics and staging, but their clinical relevance is unclear and lacking prospective studies comparing traditional imaging with novel imaging. This prospective single-institutional study compares the diagnostic accuracy of novel imaging modalities to traditional imaging modalities aiming to find the most appropriate staging modality in high-risk PC at the time of initial staging.