Comparative dosimetric evaluation of 68Ga-PSMA and 18F-Choline PET/CT imaging in prostate cancer: implications for radiation safety and SUVmax correlation
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background Comparative patient dosimetry for diagnostic PET/CT can guide radiation-safety procedures and tracer selection in prostate cancer. We compared [^68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 and ^18F-choline PET/CT and examined whether kidney SUVmax predicts patient effective dose (ED). Methods Prospective single-center study of consecutive men undergoing clinically indicated PET/CT: 70 ^68Ga-PSMA-11 and 70 ^18F-choline examinations (Jan 2022–Dec 2023). Dose-rate measurements were recorded at the injection site and at 1 m, immediately post-injection and at 1 h. ED was derived from literature-based tracer coefficients (h_PSMA-11 = 0.0169 mSv/MBq; h_F-choline = 0.0173 mSv/MBq). Kidney SUVmax was extracted in a subset ( n = 40 per tracer) to test ED–SUVmax associations (Pearson's r ). Results Mean surface dose rate was higher with ^68Ga-PSMA vs. ^18F-choline (4.9 ± 0.8 vs. 4.5 ± 0.7 µSv·h − 1 ; p = 0.004). At 1 m, the difference persisted but was smaller (1.9 ± 0.3 vs. 1.7 ± 0.3 µSv·h − 1 ; p = 0.02). Effective dose (ED) was similar between tracers (21.3 ± 3.6 vs. 20.7 ± 3.4 mSv; p = 0.28). SUVmax correlated with ED for ^68Ga-PSMA ( r = 0.71; p < 0.001), but not for ^18F-choline ( r = –0.12; p = 0.46). Conclusions ^68Ga-PSMA yields slightly higher dose-rate readings than ^18F-choline, while overall ED is comparable. These exploratory correlations do not support SUVmax as a stand-alone safety surrogate or outcome predictor.
Source: Frontiers in Nuclear Medicine
Authors: Hussein R. Kaafarani, Mohamad Haidar, Hanna El-Balaa
Language: English
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,353
OpenAlex ID: W4416841364