@article{HartrampfWeinzierlSeitzetal.2022, author = {Hartrampf, Philipp E. and Weinzierl, Franz-Xaver and Seitz, Anna Katharina and K{\"u}bler, Hubert and Essler, Markus and Buck, Andreas K. and Werner, Rudolf A. and Bundschuh, Ralph A.}, title = {Any decline in prostate-specific antigen levels identifies survivors scheduled for prostate-specific membrane antigen-directed radioligand therapy}, series = {The Prostate}, volume = {82}, journal = {The Prostate}, number = {14}, doi = {10.1002/pros.24414}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-318766}, pages = {1406 -- 1412}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radioligand therapy (RLT) is increasingly incorporated in the therapeutic algorithm of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). We aimed to elucidate the predictive performance of early biochemical response for overall survival (OS). Materials and Methods In this bicentric analysis, we included 184 mCRPC patients treated with \(^{177}\)Lu-PSMA RLT. Response to treatment was defined as decrease in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels 8 weeks after the first cycle of RLT (any decline or >50\% according to Prostate Cancer Working Group 3). OS of responders and nonresponders was then compared using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank comparison. Results A total of 114/184 patients (62.0\%) showed any PSA decline (PSA response >50\%, 55/184 [29.9\%]). For individuals exhibiting a PSA decline >50\%, OS of 19 months was significantly longer relative to nonresponders (13 months; hazard ratio of death [HR] = 0.64, 95\% confidence interval [95\% CI] = 0.44-0.93; p = 0.02). However, the difference was even more pronounced for any PSA decline, with an OS of 19 months in responders, but only 8 months in nonresponders (HR = 0.39, 95\% CI = 0.25-0.60; p < 0.001). Conclusions In mCRPC patients scheduled for RLT, early biochemical response was tightly linked to prolonged survival, irrespective of the magnitude of PSA decline. As such, even in patients with PSA decrease of less than 50\%, RLT should be continued.}, language = {en} } @article{EckhardtSbieraKrebsetal.2022, author = {Eckhardt, Carolin and Sbiera, Iuliu and Krebs, Markus and Sbiera, Silviu and Spahn, Martin and Kneitz, Burkhard and Joniau, Steven and Fassnacht, Martin and K{\"u}bler, Hubert and Weigand, Isabel and Kroiss, Matthias}, title = {High expression of Sterol-O-Acyl transferase 1 (SOAT1), an enzyme involved in cholesterol metabolism, is associated with earlier biochemical recurrence in high risk prostate cancer}, series = {Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases}, volume = {25}, journal = {Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases}, number = {3}, issn = {1476-5608}, doi = {10.1038/s41391-021-00431-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-271819}, pages = {484-490}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequent cancer in men. The prognosis of PCa is heterogeneous with many clinically indolent tumors and rare highly aggressive cases. Reliable tissue markers of prognosis are lacking. Active cholesteryl ester synthesis has been associated with prostate cancer aggressiveness. Sterol-O-Acyl transferases (SOAT) 1 and 2 catalyze cholesterol esterification in humans. Objective To investigate the value of SOAT1 and SOAT2 tissue expression as prognostic markers in high risk PCa. Patients and Methods Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 305 high risk PCa cases treated with radical prostatectomy were analyzed for SOAT1 and SOAT2 protein expression by semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards modeling were used to compare outcome. Main Outcome Measure Biochemical recurrence (BCR) free survival. Results SOAT1 expression was high in 73 (25\%) and low in 219 (75\%; not evaluable: 13) tumors. SOAT2 was highly expressed in 40 (14\%) and at low levels in 249 (86\%) samples (not evaluable: 16). By Kaplan-Meier analysis, we found significantly shorter median BCR free survival of 93 months (95\% confidence interval 23.6-123.1) in patients with high SOAT1 vs. 134 months (112.6-220.2, Log-rank p < 0.001) with low SOAT1. SOAT2 expression was not significantly associated with BCR. After adjustment for age, preoperative PSA, tumor stage, Gleason score, resection status, lymph node involvement and year of surgery, high SOAT1 but not SOAT2 expression was associated with shorter BCR free survival with a hazard ratio of 2.40 (95\% CI 1.57-3.68, p < 0.001). Time to clinical recurrence and overall survival were not significantly associated with SOAT1 and SOAT2 expression CONCLUSIONS: SOAT1 expression is strongly associated with BCR free survival alone and after multivariable adjustment in high risk PCa. SOAT1 may serve as a histologic marker of prognosis and holds promise as a future treatment target.}, language = {en} } @article{MihatschBeissertPomperetal.2022, author = {Mihatsch, Patrick W. and Beissert, Matthias and Pomper, Martin G. and Bley, Thorsten A. and Seitz, Anna K. and K{\"u}bler, Hubert and Buck, Andreas K. and Rowe, Steven P. and Serfling, Sebastian E. and Hartrampf, Philipp E. and Werner, Rudolf A.}, title = {Changing threshold-based segmentation has no relevant impact on semi-quantification in the context of structured reporting for PSMA-PET/CT}, series = {Cancers}, volume = {14}, journal = {Cancers}, number = {2}, issn = {2072-6694}, doi = {10.3390/cancers14020270}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-254782}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-directed positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is increasingly utilized for staging of men with prostate cancer (PC). To increase interpretive certainty, the standardized PSMA reporting and data system (RADS) has been proposed. Using PSMA-RADS, we characterized lesions in 18 patients imaged with \(^{18}\)F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT for primary staging and determined the stability of semi-quantitative parameters. Six hundred twenty-three lesions were categorized according to PSMA-RADS and manually segmented. In this context, PSMA-RADS-3A (soft-tissue) or -3B (bone) lesions are defined as being indeterminate for the presence of PC. For PMSA-RADS-4 and -5 lesions; however, PC is highly likely or almost certainly present [with further distinction based on absence (PSMA-RADS-4) or presence (PSMA-RADS-5) of correlative findings on CT]. Standardized uptake values (SUV\(_{max}\), SUV\(_{peak}\), SUV\(_{mean}\)) were recorded, and volumetric parameters [PSMA-derived tumor volume (PSMA-TV); total lesion PSMA (TL-PSMA)] were determined using different maximum intensity thresholds (MIT) (40 vs. 45 vs. 50\%). SUV\(_{max}\) was significantly higher in PSMA-RADS-5 lesions compared to all other PSMA-RADS categories (p ≤ 0.0322). In particular, the clinically challenging PSMA-RADS-3A lesions showed significantly lower SUV\(_{max}\) and SUV\(_{peak}\) compared to the entire PSMA-RADS-4 or -5 cohort (p < 0.0001), while for PSMA-RADS-3B this only applies when compared to the entire PSMA-RADS-5 cohort (p < 0.0001), but not to the PSMA-RADS-4 cohort (SUV\(_{max}\), p = 0.07; SUV\(_{peak}\), p = 0.08). SUV\(_{mean}\) (p = 0.30) and TL-PSMA (p = 0.16) in PSMA-RADS-5 lesions were not influenced by changing the MIT, while PSMA-TV showed significant differences when comparing 40 vs. 50\% MIT (p = 0.0066), which was driven by lymph nodes (p = 0.0239), but not bone lesions (p = 0.15). SUV\(_{max}\) was significantly higher in PSMA-RADS-5 lesions compared to all other PSMA-RADS categories in \(^{18}\)F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT. As such, the latter parameter may assist the interpreting molecular imaging specialist in assigning the correct PSMA-RADS score to sites of disease, thereby increasing diagnostic certainty. In addition, changes of the MIT in PSMA-RADS-5 lesions had no significant impact on SUV\(_{mean}\) and TL-PSMA in contrast to PSMA-TV.}, language = {en} } @article{HartrampfKrebsPeteretal.2022, author = {Hartrampf, Philipp E. and Krebs, Markus and Peter, Lea and Heinrich, Marieke and Ruffing, Julia and Kalogirou, Charis and Weinke, Maximilian and Brumberg, Joachim and K{\"u}bler, Hubert and Buck, Andreas K. and Werner, Rudolf A. and Seitz, Anna Katharina}, title = {Reduced segmentation of lesions is comparable to whole-body segmentation for response assessment by PSMA PET/CT: initial experience with the keyhole approach}, series = {Biology}, volume = {11}, journal = {Biology}, number = {5}, issn = {2079-7737}, doi = {10.3390/biology11050660}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-271191}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Simple Summary The calculation of PSMA-positive tumor volume (PSMA-TV) of the whole body from PSMA PET scans for response evaluation remains a time-consuming procedure. We hypothesized that it may be possible to quantify changes in PSMA-TV by considering only a limited number of representative tumor lesions. Changes in the whole-body PSMA-TV of 65 patients were comparable to the changes in PSMA-TV after including only the ten largest lesions. Moreover, changes in PSMA-TV correlated well with changes in PSA levels, as did the changes in PSMA-TV with the reduced number of lesions. We conclude that a response assessment using PSMA-TV with a reduced number of lesions is feasible and could lead to a simplified process for evaluating PSMA PET/CT. Abstract (1) Background: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET)-derived parameters, such as the commonly used standardized uptake value (SUV) and PSMA-positive tumor volume (PSMA-TV), have been proposed for response assessment in metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) patients. However, the calculation of whole-body PSMA-TV remains a time-consuming procedure. We hypothesized that it may be possible to quantify changes in PSMA-TV by considering only a limited number of representative lesions. (2) Methods: Sixty-five patients classified into different disease stages were assessed by PSMA PET/CT for staging and restaging after therapy. Whole-body PSMA-TV and whole-body SUV\(_{max}\) were calculated. We then repeated this calculation only including the five or ten hottest or largest lesions. The corresponding serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were also determined. The derived delta between baseline and follow-up values provided the following parameters: ΔSUV\(_{maxall}\), ΔSUV\(_{max10}\), ΔSUV\(_{max5}\), ΔPSMA-TV\(_{all}\), ΔPSMA-TV\(_{10}\), ΔPSMA-TV\(_{5}\), ΔPSA. Finally, we compared the findings from our whole-body segmentation with the results from our keyhole approach (focusing on a limited number of lesions) and correlated all values with the biochemical response (ΔPSA). (3) Results: Among patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive PCa (mHSPC), none showed a relevant deviation for ΔSUV\(_{max10}\)/ΔSUV\(_{max5}\) or ΔPSMA-TV\(_{10}\)/ΔPSMA-TV\(_{5}\) compared to ΔSUV\(_{maxall}\) and ΔPSMA-TV\(_{all}\). For patients treated with taxanes, up to 6/21 (28.6\%) showed clinically relevant deviations between ΔSUV\(_{maxall}\) and ΔSUV\(_{max10}\) or ΔSUV\(_{max5}\), but only up to 2/21 (9.5\%) patients showed clinically relevant deviations between ΔPSMA-TV\(_{all}\) and ΔPSMA-TV\(_{10}\) or ΔPSMA-TV\(_{5}\). For patients treated with radioligand therapy (RLT), up to 5/28 (17.9\%) showed clinically relevant deviations between ΔSUV\(_{maxall}\) and ΔSUV\(_{max10}\) or ΔSUV\(_{max5}\), but only 1/28 (3.6\%) patients showed clinically relevant deviations between ΔPSMA-TV\(_{all}\) and ΔPSMA-TV\(_{10}\) or ΔPSMA-TV\(_{5}\). The highest correlations with ΔPSA were found for ΔPSMA-TV\(_{all}\) (r ≥ 0.59, p ≤ 0.01), followed by ΔPSMA-TV\(_{10}\) (r ≥ 0.57, p ≤ 0.01) and ΔPSMA-TV\(_{5}\) (r ≥ 0.53, p ≤ 0.02) in all cohorts. ΔPSA only correlated with ΔSUV\(_{maxall}\) (r = 0.60, p = 0.02) and with ΔSUV\(_{max10}\) (r = 0.53, p = 0.03) in the mHSPC cohort, as well as with ΔSUV\(_{maxall}\) (r = 0.51, p = 0.01) in the RLT cohort. (4) Conclusion: Response assessment using PSMA-TV with a reduced number of lesions is feasible, and may allow for a simplified evaluation process for PSMA PET/CT.}, language = {en} } @article{TamihardjaZehnerHartrampfetal.2022, author = {Tamihardja, J{\"o}rg and Zehner, Leonie and Hartrampf, Philipp E. and Cirsi, Sinan and Wegener, Sonja and Buck, Andreas K. and Flentje, Michael and Polat, B{\"u}lent}, title = {Dose-escalated salvage radiotherapy for macroscopic local recurrence of prostate cancer in the prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography era}, series = {Cancers}, volume = {14}, journal = {Cancers}, number = {19}, issn = {2072-6694}, doi = {10.3390/cancers14194956}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-290302}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Simple Summary Prostate cancer often relapses after initial radical prostatectomy, and salvage radiotherapy offers a second chance of cure for relapsed patients. Modern imaging techniques, especially prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PSMA PET/CT), enable radiation oncologists to target radiotherapy at the involved sites of disease. In a group of patients, PSMA PET/CT imaging can detect a macroscopic local recurrence with or without locoregional lymph node metastasis. In these cases, an escalation of the radiotherapy dose is often considered for controlling the visible tumor mass. As the evidence for dose-escalated salvage radiotherapy for macroscopic recurrent prostate cancer after PSMA PET/CT imaging is still limited, we address this topic in the current analysis. We found that the outcome of patients with dose-escalated salvage radiotherapy for macroscopic prostate cancer recurrence is encouragingly favorable, while the toxicity is very limited. Abstract Background: The purpose of this study was to access the oncological outcome of prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography (PSMA PET/CT)-guided salvage radiotherapy (SRT) for localized macroscopic prostate cancer recurrence. Methods: Between February 2010 and June 2021, 367 patients received SRT after radical prostatectomy. Out of the 367 screened patients, 111 patients were staged by PSMA PET/CT before SRT. A total of 59 out of these 111 (53.2\%) patients were treated for PSMA PET-positive macroscopic prostatic fossa recurrence. Dose-escalated SRT was applied with a simultaneous integrated boost at a median prescribed dose of 69.3 Gy (IQR 69.3-72.6 Gy). The oncological outcome was investigated using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. The genitourinary (GU)/gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity evaluation utilized Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events (version 5.0). Results: The median follow-up was 38.2 months. The three-year biochemical progression-free survival rate was 89.1\% (95\% CI: 81.1-97.8\%) and the three-year metastasis-free survival rate reached 96.2\% (95\% CI: 91.2-100.0\%). The cumulative three-year late grade 3 GU toxicity rate was 3.4\%. No late grade 3 GI toxicity occurred. Conclusions: Dose-escalated PSMA PET/CT-guided salvage radiotherapy for macroscopic prostatic fossa recurrence resulted in favorable survival and toxicity rates.}, language = {en} } @article{TamihardjaZehnerHartrampfetal.2022, author = {Tamihardja, J{\"o}rg and Zehner, Leonie and Hartrampf, Philipp and Lisowski, Dominik and Kneitz, Susanne and Cirsi, Sinan and Razinskas, Gary and Flentje, Michael and Polat, B{\"u}lent}, title = {Salvage nodal radiotherapy as metastasis-directed therapy for oligorecurrent prostate cancer detected by positron emission tomography shows favorable outcome in long-term follow-up}, series = {Cancers}, volume = {14}, journal = {Cancers}, number = {15}, issn = {2072-6694}, doi = {10.3390/cancers14153766}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-286064}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Simple Summary Patients, who suffer from oligorecurrent prostate cancer with limited nodal involvement, may be offered positron emission tomography (PET)-directed salvage nodal radiotherapy to delay disease progression. This current analysis aimed to access salvage radiotherapy for nodal oligorecurrent prostate cancer with simultaneous integrated boost to PET-involved lymph nodes as metastasis-directed therapy. A long-term oncological outcome was favorable after salvage nodal radiotherapy and severe toxicity rates were low. Androgen deprivation therapy plays a major role in recurrent prostate cancer management and demonstrates a positive influence on the rate of biochemical progression in patients receiving salvage nodal radiotherapy. The present long-term analysis may help clinicians identify patients who would benefit from salvage nodal radiotherapy and androgen deprivation therapy, as a multimodal treatment strategy for oligorecurrent prostate cancer. Abstract Background: The study aimed to access the long-term outcome of salvage nodal radiotherapy (SNRT) in oligorecurrent prostate cancer. Methods: A total of 95 consecutive patients received SNRT for pelvic and/or extrapelvic nodal recurrence after prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) or choline PET from 2010 to 2021. SNRT was applied as external beam radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost up to a median total dose of 62.9 Gy (EQD2\(_{1.5Gy}\)) to the recurrent lymph node metastases. The outcome was analyzed by cumulative incidence functions with death as the competing risk. Fine-Gray regression analyses were performed to estimate the relative hazards of the outcome parameters. Genitourinary (GU)/gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity evaluation utilized Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events (v5.0). The results are as follows: the median follow-up was 47.1 months. The five-year biochemical progression rate (95\% CI) was 50.1\% (35.7-62.9\%). Concomitant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) was adminstered in 60.0\% of the patients. The five-year biochemical progression rate was 75.0\% (42.0-90.9\%) without ADT versus 35.3\% (19.6-51.4\%) with ADT (p = 0.003). The cumulative five-year late grade 3 GU toxicity rate was 2.1\%. No late grade 3 GI toxicity occured. Conclusions: Metastasis-directed therapy through SNRT for PET-staged oligorecurrent prostate cancer demonstrated a favorable long-term oncologic outcome. Omittance of ADT led to an increased biochemical progression.}, language = {en} } @article{GargWernerChungetal.2022, author = {Garg, Tushar and Werner, Rudolf A. and Chung, Hyun Woo and Khatri, Wajahat and Pienta, Kenneth J. and Pomper, Martin G. and Gorin, Michael A. and Saad, Elie and Rowe, Steven P.}, title = {Association of true positivity with serum prostate-specific antigen levels and other clinical factors in indeterminate PSMA-RADS-3A lesions identified on \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL PET/CT scans}, series = {Tomography}, volume = {8}, journal = {Tomography}, number = {6}, issn = {2379-139X}, doi = {10.3390/tomography8060220}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-290510}, pages = {2639 -- 2647}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The use of prostate-specific membrane antigen targeted PET imaging for the evaluation of prostate cancer has increased significantly in the last couple of decades. When evaluating these imaging findings based on the PSMA reporting and data system version 1.0, which categorize lesions based on their likelihood of prostate cancer involvement, PSMA-RADS-3A lesions are commonly seen, which are indeterminate for the presence of disease. A total of 28 patients with 171 PSMA-RADS-3A lesions on \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL PET/CT scans from June 2016 to May 2017 who had follow-up cross-sectional imaging over time were included in this study. The PSA levels of patients with PSMA-RADS-3A lesions were categorized into four groups, 0-0.2, 0.2-1, 1-2, and >2 ng/mL. The pre-operative Gleason score of these patients was categorized into two groups, Gleason score < 7 or ≥7. The median age for these patients was 72.5 years (range 59-81). The median PSA value for patients with positive lesions was significantly higher than those with negative lesions (5.8 ng/mL vs. 0.2 ng/mL, p < 0.0001). The lesion positivity rate was significantly higher in patients with PSA > 1 ng/mL (18.2\% vs. 81.9\%, p < 0.001). On ROC analysis, the highest classification accuracy was seen at PSA ≥ 0.6 ng/mL of 80.12\% (95\% CI = 73.69-86.16\%), and the area under the curve was 71.32\% (95\% CI = 61.9-80.7\%, p < 0.0001). A total of 96.4\% (108/112) of patients with positive lesions and 86.4\% (51/59) of patients with negative lesions had a PSMA-RADS-4/5 lymph node on the initial \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL PET/CT scan (p = 0.02). In patients with a Gleason score ≥ 7, the presence of positive PSMA-RADS-3A lesions was higher, compared to negative PSMA-RADS-3A lesions (p = 0.049). Higher PSA levels in patients with PSMA-RADS-3A lesions can point towards the presence of true positivity. PSA levels may be considered in deciding whether to call an indeterminate lesion on PSMA PET.}, language = {en} } @article{HartrampfSeitzWeinzierletal.2022, author = {Hartrampf, Philipp E. and Seitz, Anna Katharina and Weinzierl, Franz-Xaver and Serfling, Sebastian E. and Schirbel, Andreas and Rowe, Steven P. and K{\"u}bler, Hubert and Buck, Andreas K. and Werner, Rudolf A.}, title = {Baseline clinical characteristics predict overall survival in patients undergoing radioligand therapy with [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I\&T during long-term follow-up}, series = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, volume = {49}, journal = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, number = {12}, doi = {10.1007/s00259-022-05853-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324573}, pages = {4262-4270}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background Radioligand therapy (RLT) with \(^{177}\)Lu-labeled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) ligands is associated with prolonged overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). A substantial number of patients, however, are prone to treatment failure. We aimed to determine clinical baseline characteristics to predict OS in patients receiving [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I\&T RLT in a long-term follow-up. Materials and methods Ninety-two mCRPC patients treated with [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I\&T with a follow-up of at least 18 months were retrospectively identified. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed for various baseline characteristics, including laboratory values, Gleason score, age, prior therapies, and time interval between initial diagnosis and first treatment cycle (interval\(_{Diagnosis-RLT}\), per 12 months). Cutoff values for significant predictors were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. ROC-derived thresholds were then applied to Kaplan-Meier analyses. Results Baseline C-reactive protein (CRP; hazard ratio [HR], 1.10, 95\% CI 1.02-1.18; P = 0.01), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; HR, 1.07, 95\% CI 1.01-1.11; P = 0.01), aspartate aminotransferase (AST; HR, 1.16, 95\% CI 1.06-1.26; P = 0.001), and interval\(_{Diagnosis-RLT}\) (HR, 0.95, 95\% CI 0.91-0.99; P = 0.02) were identified as independent prognostic factors for OS. The following respective ROC-based thresholds were determined: CRP, 0.98 mg/dl (area under the curve [AUC], 0.80); LDH, 276.5 U/l (AUC, 0.83); AST, 26.95 U/l (AUC, 0.73); and interval\(_{Diagnosis-RLT}\), 43.5 months (AUC, 0.68; P < 0.01, respectively). Respective Kaplan-Meier analyses demonstrated a significantly longer median OS of patients with lower CRP, lower LDH, and lower AST, as well as prolonged interval\(_{Diagnosis-RLT}\) (P ≤ 0.01, respectively). Conclusion In mCRPC patients treated with [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I\&T, baseline CRP, LDH, AST, and time interval until RLT initiation (thereby reflecting a possible indicator for tumor aggressiveness) are independently associated with survival. Our findings are in line with previous findings on [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA-617, and we believe that these clinical baseline characteristics may support the nuclear medicine specialist to identify long-term survivors.}, language = {en} } @article{HartrampfBundschuhWeinzierletal.2022, author = {Hartrampf, Philipp E. and Bundschuh, Ralph A. and Weinzierl, Franz-Xaver and Serfling, Sebastian E. and Kosmala, Aleksander and Seitz, Anna Katharina and K{\"u}bler, Hubert and Buck, Andreas K. and Essler, Markus and Werner, Rudolf A.}, title = {mCRPC patients with PSA fluctuations under radioligand therapy have comparable survival benefits relative to patients with sustained PSA decrease}, series = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, volume = {49}, journal = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, number = {13}, doi = {10.1007/s00259-022-05910-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324562}, pages = {4727-4735}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Introduction In men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) scheduled for prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radioligand therapy (RLT), biochemical response is assessed based on repeated measurements of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. We aimed to determine overall survival (OS) in patients experiencing sustained PSA increase, decrease, or fluctuations during therapy. Materials and methods In this bicentric study, we included 176 mCRPC patients treated with PSMA-directed RLT. PSA levels were determined using blood samples prior to the first RLT and on the admission days for the following cycles. We calculated relative changes in PSA levels compared to baseline. Kaplan-Meier curves as well as log-rank test were used to compare OS of different subgroups, including patients with sustained PSA increase, decrease, or fluctuations (defined as change after initial decrease or increase after the first cycle). Results Sixty-one out of one hundred seventy-six (34.7\%) patients showed a sustained increase and 86/176 (48.8\%) a sustained decrease in PSA levels. PSA fluctuations were observed in the remaining 29/176 (16.5\%). In this subgroup, 22/29 experienced initial PSA decrease followed by an increase (7/29, initial increase followed by a decrease). Median OS of patients with sustained decrease in PSA levels was significantly longer when compared to patients with sustained increase of PSA levels (19 vs. 8 months; HR 0.35, 95\% CI 0.22-0.56; P < 0.001). Patients with PSA fluctuations showed a significantly longer median OS compared to patients with sustained increase of PSA levels (18 vs. 8 months; HR 0.49, 95\% CI 0.30-0.80; P < 0.01), but no significant difference relative to men with sustained PSA decrease (18 vs. 19 months; HR 1.4, 95\% CI 0.78-2.49; P = 0.20). In addition, in men experiencing PSA fluctuations, median OS did not differ significantly between patients with initial decrease or initial increase of tumor marker levels (16 vs. 18 months; HR 1.2, 95\% CI 0.38-4.05; P = 0.68). Conclusion Initial increase or decrease of PSA levels is sustained in the majority of patients undergoing RLT. Sustained PSA decrease was linked to prolonged survival and men with PSA fluctuations under treatment experienced comparable survival benefits. As such, transient tumor marker oscillations under RLT should rather not lead to treatment discontinuation, especially in the absence of radiological progression.}, language = {en} } @article{HartrampfWeinzierlBucketal.2022, author = {Hartrampf, Philipp E. and Weinzierl, Franz-Xaver and Buck, Andreas K. and Rowe, Steven P. and Higuchi, Takahiro and Seitz, Anna Katharina and K{\"u}bler, Hubert and Schirbel, Andreas and Essler, Markus and Bundschuh, Ralph A. and Werner, Rudolf A.}, title = {Matched-pair analysis of [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I\&T and [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer}, series = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, volume = {49}, journal = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, number = {9}, doi = {10.1007/s00259-022-05744-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324581}, pages = {3269-3276}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background Labelled with lutetium-177, the urea-based small molecules PSMA I\&T and PSMA-617 are the two agents most frequently used for radioligand therapy (RLT) in patients with advanced metastatic castration-resistant and prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expressing prostate cancer (mCRPC). In this matched-pair analysis, we aimed to compare the toxicity and efficacy of both agents for PSMA-directed RLT. Materials and methods A total of 110 mCRPC patients from two centres were accrued, 55 individuals treated with [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I\&T, and a matched cohort of 55 patients treated with [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA-617. Matching criteria included age at the first cycle, Gleason score, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values, and previous taxane-based chemotherapy. Using common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE v. 5.0), toxicity profiles were investigated (including bone marrow and renal toxicity). Overall survival (OS) between both groups was compared. Results Toxicity assessment revealed grade III anaemia in a single patient (1.8\%) for [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I\&T and five (9.1\%) for [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA-617. In addition, one (1.9\%) grade III thrombopenia for [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 was recorded. Apart from that, no other grade III/IV toxicities were present. A median OS of 12 months for patients treated with [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA I\&T did not differ significantly when compared to patients treated with [\(^{177}\)Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 (median OS, 13 months; P = 0.89). Conclusion In this matched-pair analysis of patients receiving one of the two agents most frequently applied for PSMA RLT, the rate of clinically relevant toxicities was low for both compounds. In addition, no relevant differences for OS were observed.}, language = {en} } @article{TamihardjaLutyjKraftetal.2021, author = {Tamihardja, J{\"o}rg and Lutyj, Paul and Kraft, Johannes and Lisowski, Dominik and Weick, Stefan and Flentje, Michael and Polat, B{\"u}lent}, title = {Two-Weekly High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy Boost After External Beam Radiotherapy for Localized Prostate Cancer: Long-Term Outcome and Toxicity Analysis}, series = {Frontiers in Oncology}, volume = {11}, journal = {Frontiers in Oncology}, issn = {2234-943X}, doi = {10.3389/fonc.2021.764536}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-250992}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose Evaluation of clinical outcome of two-weekly high-dose-rate brachytherapy boost after external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for localized prostate cancer. Methods 338 patients with localized prostate cancer receiving definitive EBRT followed by a two-weekly high-dose-rate brachytherapy boost (HDR-BT boost) in the period of 2002 to 2019 were analyzed. EBRT, delivered in 46 Gy (DMean) in conventional fractionation, was followed by two fractions HDR-BT boost with 9 Gy (D90\%) two and four weeks after EBRT. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) was added in 176 (52.1\%) patients. Genitourinary (GU)/gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity was evaluated utilizing the Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events (version 5.0) and biochemical failure was defined according to the Phoenix definition. Results Median follow-up was 101.8 months. 15 (4.4\%)/115 (34.0\%)/208 (61.5\%) patients had low-/intermediate-/high-risk cancer according to the D`Amico risk classification. Estimated 5-year and 10-year biochemical relapse-free survival (bRFS) was 84.7\% and 75.9\% for all patients. The estimated 5-year bRFS was 93.3\%, 93.4\% and 79.5\% for low-, intermediate- and high-risk disease, respectively. The estimated 10-year freedom from distant metastasis (FFM) and overall survival (OS) rates were 86.5\% and 70.0\%. Cumulative 5-year late GU toxicity and late GI toxicity grade ≥ 2 was observed in 19.3\% and 5.0\% of the patients, respectively. Cumulative 5-year late grade 3 GU/GI toxicity occurred in 3.6\%/0.3\%. Conclusions Two-weekly HDR-BT boost after EBRT for localized prostate cancer showed an excellent toxicity profile with low GU/GI toxicity rates and effective long-term biochemical control.}, language = {en} } @article{TamihardjaRazinskasExneretal.2021, author = {Tamihardja, J{\"o}rg and Razinskas, Gary and Exner, Florian and Richter, Anne and Kessler, Patrick and Weick, Stefan and Kraft, Johannes and Mantel, Frederick and Flentje, Michael and Polat, B{\"u}lent}, title = {Comparison of treatment plans for hypofractionated high-dose prostate cancer radiotherapy using the Varian Halcyon and the Elekta Synergy platforms}, series = {Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics}, volume = {22}, journal = {Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics}, number = {9}, doi = {10.1002/acm2.13380}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-260722}, pages = {262-270}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose To compare radiotherapy plans between an O-ring and a conventional C-arm linac for hypofractionated high-dose prostate radiotherapy in terms of plan quality, dose distribution, and quality assurance in a multi-vendor environment. Methods Twenty prostate cancer treatment plans were irradiated on the O-ring Varian Halcyon linac and were re-optimized for the C-arm Elekta Synergy Agility linac. Dose-volume histogram metrics for target coverage and organ at risk dose, quality assurance, and monitor units were retrospectively compared. Patient-specific quality assurance with ion chamber measurements, gamma index analysis, and portal dosimetry was performed using the Varian Portal Dosimetry system and the ArcCHECK® phantom (Sun Nuclear Corporation). Prostate-only radiotherapy was delivered with simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in 20 fractions of 2.5/3.0 Gy each. Results For both linacs, target coverage was excellent and plan quality comparable. Homogeneity in PTVBoost was high for Synergy as well as Halcyon with a mean homogeneity index of 0.07 ± 0.01 and 0.05 ± 0.01, respectively. Mean dose for the organs at risk rectum and bladder differed not significantly between the linacs but were higher for the femoral heads and penile bulb for Halcyon. Quality assurance showed no significant differences in terms of ArcCHECK gamma pass rates. Median pass rate for 3\%/2 mm was 99.3\% (96.7 to 99.8\%) for Synergy and 99.8\% (95.6 to 100\%) for Halcyon. Agreement between calculated and measured dose was high with a median deviation of -0.6\% (-1.7 to 0.8\%) for Synergy and 0.2\% (-0.6 to 2.3\%) for Halcyon. Monitor units were higher for the Halcyon by approximately 20\% (p < 0.001). Conclusion Hypofractionated high-dose prostate cancer SIB VMAT on the Halcyon system is feasible with comparable plan quality in reference to a standard C-arm Elekta Synergy linac.}, language = {en} } @article{SchumannEberleinLapaetal.2021, author = {Schumann, S. and Eberlein, U. and Lapa, C. and M{\"u}ller, J. and Serfling, S. and Lassmann, M. and Scherthan, H.}, title = {α-Particle-induced DNA damage tracks in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of [\(^{223}\)Ra]RaCl\(_{2}\)-treated prostate cancer patients}, series = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, volume = {48}, journal = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging}, number = {9}, issn = {1619-7089}, doi = {10.1007/s00259-020-05170-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265462}, pages = {2761-2770}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose One therapy option for prostate cancer patients with bone metastases is the use of [\(^{223}\)Ra]RaCl\(_{2}\). The α-emitter \(^{223}\)Ra creates DNA damage tracks along α-particle trajectories (α-tracks) in exposed cells that can be revealed by immunofluorescent staining of γ-H2AX+53BP1 DNA double-strand break markers. We investigated the time- and absorbed dose-dependency of the number of α-tracks in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients undergoing their first therapy with [\(^{223}\)Ra]RaCl\(_{2}\). Methods Multiple blood samples from nine prostate cancer patients were collected before and after administration of [\(^{223}\)Ra]RaCl\(_{2}\), up to 4 weeks after treatment. γ-H2AX- and 53BP1-positive α-tracks were microscopically quantified in isolated and immuno-stained PBMCs. Results The absorbed doses to the blood were less than 6 mGy up to 4 h after administration and maximally 16 mGy in total. Up to 4 h after administration, the α-track frequency was significantly increased relative to baseline and correlated with the absorbed dose to the blood in the dose range < 3 mGy. In most of the late samples (24 h - 4 weeks after administration), the α-track frequency remained elevated. Conclusion The γ-H2AX+53BP1 assay is a potent method for detection of α-particle-induced DNA damages during treatment with or after accidental incorporation of radionuclides even at low absorbed doses. It may serve as a biomarker discriminating α- from β-emitters based on damage geometry.}, language = {en} } @article{TamihardjaCirsiKessleretal.2021, author = {Tamihardja, J{\"o}rg and Cirsi, Sinan and Kessler, Patrick and Razinskas, Gary and Exner, Florian and Richter, Anne and Polat, B{\"u}lent and Flentje, Michael}, title = {Cone beam CT-based dose accumulation and analysis of delivered dose to the dominant intraprostatic lesion in primary radiotherapy of prostate cancer}, series = {Radiation Oncology}, volume = {16}, journal = {Radiation Oncology}, doi = {10.1186/s13014-021-01933-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265656}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background Evaluation of delivered dose to the dominant intraprostatic lesion (DIL) for moderately hypofractionated radiotherapy of prostate cancer by cone beam computed tomography (CBCT)-based dose accumulation and target coverage analysis. Methods Twenty-three patients with localized prostate cancer treated with moderately hypofractionated prostate radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) between December 2016 and February 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Included patients were required to have an identifiable DIL on bi-parametric planning magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After import into the RayStation treatment planning system and application of a step-wise density override, the fractional doses were computed on each CBCT and were consecutively mapped onto the planning CT via a deformation vector field derived from deformable image registration. Fractional doses were accumulated for all CBCTs and interpolated for missing CBCTs, resulting in the delivered dose for PTV\(_{DIL}\), PTV\(_{Boost}\), PTV, and the organs at risk. The location of the index lesions was recorded according to the sector map of the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PIRADS) Version 2.1. Target coverage of the index lesions was evaluated and stratified for location. Results In total, 338 CBCTs were available for analysis. Dose accumulation target coverage of PTV\(_{DIL}\), PTV\(_{Boost}\), and PTV was excellent and no cases of underdosage in D\(_{Mean}\), D_95\%, D_02\%, and D_98\% could be detected. Delivered rectum D\(_{Mean}\) did not significantly differ from the planned dose. Bladder mean DMean was higher than planned with 19.4 ± 7.4 Gy versus 18.8 ± 7.5 Gy, p < 0.001. The penile bulb showed a decreased delivered mean DMean with 29.1 ± 14.0 Gy versus 29.8 ± 14.4 Gy, p < 0.001. Dorsal DILs, defined as DILs in the posterior medial peripheral zone of the prostate, showed a significantly lower delivered dose with a mean DMean difference of 2.2 Gy (95\% CI 1.3-3.1 Gy, p < 0.001) compared to ventral lesions. Conclusions CBCT-based dose accumulation showed an adequate delivered dose to the dominant intraprostatic lesion and organs at risk within planning limits. Cautious evaluation of the target coverage for index lesions adjacent to the rectum is warranted to avoid underdosage.}, language = {en} } @article{WernerHiguchiPomperetal.2021, author = {Werner, Rudolf A. and Higuchi, Takahiro and Pomper, Martin G. and Rowe, Steven P.}, title = {Theranostics in oncology — thriving, now more than ever}, series = {Diagnostics}, volume = {11}, journal = {Diagnostics}, number = {5}, issn = {2075-4418}, doi = {10.3390/diagnostics11050805}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236662}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Tracing its roots back to the 1940s, theranostics in nuclear oncology has proved successful mainly due to the beneficial effects of image-guided therapeutic concepts for patients afflicted with a variety of different cancers. The majority of these treatments are not only characterized by substantial prolongation of progression-free and overall survival, but are also generally safe, rendering theranostic agents as an attractive treatment option in various clinical scenarios in oncology. In this Special Issue Novel Theranostic Agents, nine original articles from around the globe provide further evidence on the use of the theranostic concept for neuroendocrine neoplasm (NEN), prostate cancer (PC), meningioma, and neuroblastoma. The investigated diagnostic and therapeutic radiotracers target not only established structures, such as somatostatin receptor, prostate-specific membrane antigen or norepinephrine transporter, but also recently emerging targets such as the C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4. Moreover, the presented original articles also combine the concept of theranostics with in-depth read-out techniques such as radiomics or novel reconstruction algorithms on pretherapeutic scans, e.g., for outcome prediction. Even 80 years after its initial clinical introduction, theranostics in oncology continues to thrive, now more than ever.}, language = {en} } @article{HartrampfLapaSerflingetal.2021, author = {Hartrampf, Philipp E. and Lapa, Constantin and Serfling, Sebastian E. and Buck, Andreas K. and Seitz, Anna Katharina and Meyer, Philipp T. and Ruf, Juri and Michalski, Kerstin}, title = {Development of Discordant Hypermetabolic Prostate Cancer Lesions in the Course of [\(^{177}\)Lu]PSMA Radioligand Therapy and Their Possible Influence on Patient Outcome}, series = {Cancers}, volume = {13}, journal = {Cancers}, number = {17}, issn = {2072-6694}, doi = {10.3390/cancers13174270}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-245168}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Simple Summary Discordant FDG-positive but PSMA-negative (FDG+/PSMA-) metastases constitute a negative prognostic marker of overall survival in patients undergoing PSMA radioligand therapy (RLT). The aim of this analysis was to investigate the prognostic implications of new FDG+/PSMA- lesions, which occur during or after PSMA RLT. In a retrospective bicentric analysis of 32 patients undergoing PSMA RLT and follow-up dual tracer staging with PSMA and FDG PET/CT, FDG+/PSMA- lesions occurred in a limited number of patients. However, the presence of FDG+/PSMA- lesions appears not to have a significant impact on the OS, but further studies are needed to establish the clinical relevance of such lesions. Abstract Introduction: Positron emission tomography/computer tomography (PET/CT) targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is crucial for the assessment of adequate PSMA expression in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) prior to PSMA radioligand therapy (PSMA RLT). Moreover, initial dual tracer staging using combined PSMA and [\(^{18}\)F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT provides relevant information, since discordant FDG-positive but PSMA-negative (FDG+/PSMA-) lesions constitute a negative prognostic marker of overall survival (OS) after PSMA RLT. However, little is known about the prognostic implications of dual tracer imaging for restaging at follow-up. The aim of this analysis was to investigate the prognostic implications of new FDG+/PSMA- lesions during or after PSMA RLT. Methods: This bicentric analysis included 32 patients with mCRPC who underwent both FDG and PSMA PET/CT imaging after two or four cycles of PSMA RLT. Patients with FDG+/PSMA- lesions prior to PSMA RLT were not considered. The presence of FDG+/PSMA- lesions was assessed with follow-up dual tracer imaging of patients after two or four cycles of PSMA RLT. Patients with at least one new FDG+/PSMA- lesion were compared to patients without any FDG+/PSMA- lesions at the respective time points. A log-rank analysis was used to assess the difference in OS between subgroups. Results: After two cycles of PSMA RLT, four of 32 patients (13\%) had FDG+/PSMA- metastases. No significant difference in OS was observed (p = 0.807), as compared to patients without FDG+/PSMA- lesions. Follow-up dual tracer imaging after the 4th cycle of PSMA RLT was available in 18 patients. Of these, four patients presented with FDG+/PSMA- findings (n = 2 already after two cycles). After the fourth cycle of PSMA RLT, no significant difference in OS was observed between patients with and without FDG+/PSMA- lesions (p = 0.442). Conclusion: This study shows that FDG+/PSMA- lesions develop in a limited number of patients undergoing PSMA RLT. Further studies are needed to establish the clinical relevance of such lesions.}, language = {en} } @article{PinkawaAebersoldBoehmeretal.2021, author = {Pinkawa, Michael and Aebersold, Daniel M. and B{\"o}hmer, Dirk and Flentje, Michael and Ghadjar, Pirus and Schmidt-Hegemann, Nina-Sophie and H{\"o}cht, Stefan and H{\"o}lscher, Tobias and M{\"u}ller, Arndt-Christian and Niehoff, Peter and Sedlmayer, Felix and Wolf, Frank and Zamboglou, Constantinos and Zips, Daniel and Wiegel, Thomas}, title = {Radiotherapy in nodal oligorecurrent prostate cancer}, series = {Strahlentherapie und Onkologie}, volume = {197}, journal = {Strahlentherapie und Onkologie}, number = {7}, issn = {0179-7158}, doi = {10.1007/s00066-021-01778-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307763}, pages = {575-580}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Objective The current article encompasses a literature review and recommendations for radiotherapy in nodal oligorecurrent prostate cancer. Materials and methods A literature review focused on studies comparing metastasis-directed stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) vs. external elective nodal radiotherapy (ENRT) and studies analyzing recurrence patterns after local nodal treatment was performed. The DEGRO Prostate Cancer Expert Panel discussed the results and developed treatment recommendations. Results Metastasis-directed radiotherapy results in high local control (often > 90\% within a follow-up of 1-2 years) and can be used to improve progression-free survival or defer androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) according to prospective randomized phase II data. Distant progression after involved-node SABR only occurs within a few months in the majority of patients. ENRT improves metastases-free survival rates with increased toxicity in comparison to SABR according to retrospective comparative studies. The majority of nodal recurrences after initial local treatment of pelvic nodal metastasis are detected within the true pelvis and common iliac vessels. Conclusion ENRT with or without a boost should be preferred to SABR in pelvic nodal recurrences. In oligometastatic prostate cancer with distant (extrapelvic) nodal recurrences, SABR alone can be performed in selected cases. Application of additional systemic treatments should be based on current guidelines, with ADT as first-line treatment for hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. Only in carefully selected patients can radiotherapy be initially used without additional ADT outside of the current standard recommendations. Results of (randomized) prospective studies are needed for definitive recommendations.}, language = {en} } @article{WernerDerlinLapaetal.2020, author = {Werner, Rudolf A. and Derlin, Thorsten and Lapa, Constantin and Sheikbahaei, Sara and Higuchi, Takahiro and Giesel, Frederik L. and Behr, Spencer and Drzezga, Alexander and Kimura, Hiroyuki and Buck, Andreas K. and Bengel, Frank M. and Pomper, Martin G. and Gorin, Michael A. and Rowe, Steven P.}, title = {\(^{18}\)F-labeled, PSMA-targeted radiotracers: leveraging the advantages of radiofluorination for prostate cancer molecular imaging}, series = {Theranostics}, volume = {10}, journal = {Theranostics}, number = {1}, issn = {1838-7640}, doi = {10.7150/thno.37894}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-202559}, pages = {1-16}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted PET imaging for prostate cancer with \(^{68}\)Ga-labeled compounds has rapidly become adopted as part of routine clinical care in many parts of the world. However, recent years have witnessed the start of a shift from \(^{68}\)Ga- to \(^{18}\)F-labeled PSMA-targeted compounds. The latter imaging agents have several key advantages, which may lay the groundwork for an even more widespread adoption into the clinic. First, facilitated delivery from distant suppliers expands the availability of PET radiopharmaceuticals in smaller hospitals operating a PET center but lacking the patient volume to justify an onsite \(^{68}\)Ge/\(^{68}\)Ga generator. Thus, such an approach meets the increasing demand for PSMA-targeted PET imaging in areas with lower population density and may even lead to cost-savings compared to in-house production. Moreover, \(^{18}\)F-labeled radiotracers have a higher positron yield and lower positron energy, which in turn decreases image noise, improves contrast resolution, and maximizes the likelihood of detecting subtle lesions. In addition, the longer half-life of 110 min allows for improved delayed imaging protocols and flexibility in study design, which may further increase diagnostic accuracy. Moreover, such compounds can be distributed to sites which are not allowed to produce radiotracers on-site due to regulatory issues or to centers without access to a cyclotron. In light of these advantageous characteristics, \(^{18}\)F-labeled PSMA-targeted PET radiotracers may play an important role in both optimizing this transformative imaging modality and making it widely available. We have aimed to provide a concise overview of emerging \(^{18}\)F-labeled PSMA-targeted radiotracers undergoing active clinical development. Given the wide array of available radiotracers, comparative studies are needed to firmly establish the role of the available \(^{18}\)F-labeled compounds in the field of molecular PCa imaging, preferably in different clinical scenarios.}, language = {en} } @article{SchumannScherthanFranketal.2020, author = {Schumann, Sarah and Scherthan, Harry and Frank, Torsten and Lapa, Constantin and M{\"u}ller, Jessica and Seifert, Simone and Lassmann, Michael and Eberlein, Uta}, title = {DNA Damage in Blood Leukocytes of Prostate Cancer Patients Undergoing PET/CT Examinations with [\(^{68}\)Ga]Ga-PSMA I\&T}, series = {Cancers}, volume = {12}, journal = {Cancers}, number = {2}, issn = {2072-6694}, doi = {10.3390/cancers12020388}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200585}, pages = {388}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The aim was to investigate the induction and repair of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) as a function of the absorbed dose to the blood of patients undergoing PET/CT examinations with [68Ga]Ga-PSMA. Blood samples were collected from 15 patients before and at four time points after [68Ga]Ga-PSMA administration, both before and after the PET/CT scan. Absorbed doses to the blood were calculated. In addition, blood samples with/without contrast agent from five volunteers were irradiated ex vivo by CT while measuring the absorbed dose. Leukocytes were isolated, fixed, and stained for co-localizing γ-H2AX+53BP1 DSB foci that were enumerated manually. In vivo, a significant increase in γ-H2AX+53BP1 foci compared to baseline was observed at all time points after administration, although the absorbed dose to the blood by 68Ga was below 4 mGy. Ex vivo, the increase in radiation-induced foci depended on the absorbed dose and the presence of contrast agent, which could have caused a dose enhancement. The CT-dose contribution for the patients was estimated at about 12 mGy using the ex vivo calibration. The additional number of DSB foci induced by CT, however, was comparable to the one induced by 68Ga. The significantly increased foci numbers after [68Ga]Ga-PSMA administration may suggest a possible low-dose hypersensitivity.}, language = {en} } @unpublished{WernerBundschuhBundschuhetal.2019, author = {Werner, Rudolf A. and Bundschuh, Ralph A. and Bundschuh, Lena and Fanti, Stefano and Javadi, Mehrbod S. and Higuchi, Takahiro and Weich, A. and Pienta, Kenneth J. and Buck, Andreas K. and Pomper, Martin G. and Gorin, Michael A. and Herrmann, Ken and Lapa, Constantin and Rowe, Steven P.}, title = {Novel Structured Reporting Systems for Theranostic Radiotracers}, series = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine}, journal = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine}, issn = {0161-5505}, doi = {10.2967/jnumed.118.223537}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-174629}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Standardized reporting is more and more routinely implemented in clinical practice and such structured reports have a major impact on a large variety of medical fields, e.g. laboratory medicine, pathology, and, recently, radiology. Notably, the field of nuclear medicine is constantly evolving, as novel radiotracers for numerous clinical applications are developed. Thus, framework systems for standardized reporting in this field may a) increase clinical acceptance of new radiotracers, b) allow for inter- and intra-center comparisons for quality assurance, and c) may be used in (global) multi-center studies to ensure comparable results and enable efficient data abstraction. In the last two years, several standardized framework systems for positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracers with potential theranostic applications have been proposed. These include systems for prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted PET agents for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) and somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-targeted PET agents for the diagnosis and treatment of neuroendocrine neoplasias. In the present review, those standardized framework systems for PSMA- and SSTR-targeted PET will be briefly introduced followed by an overview of their advantages and limitations. In addition, potential applications will be defined, approaches to validate such concepts will be proposed, and future perspectives will be discussed.}, subject = {Positronen-Emissions-Tomografie}, language = {en} } @article{KienerChenKrebsetal.2019, author = {Kiener, Mirjam and Chen, Lanpeng and Krebs, Markus and Grosjean, Joȅl and Klima, Irena and Kalogirou, Charis and Riedmiller, Hubertus and Kneitz, Burkhard and Thalmann, George N. and Snaar-Jagalska, Ewa and Spahn, Martin and Kruithof-de Julio, Marianna and Zoni, Eugenio}, title = {miR-221-5p regulates proliferation and migration in human prostate cancer cells and reduces tumor growth in vivo}, series = {BMC Cancer}, volume = {19}, journal = {BMC Cancer}, doi = {10.1186/s12885-019-5819-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-325762}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Background Despite latest advances in prostate cancer (PCa) therapy, PCa remains the third-leading cause of cancer-related death in European men. Dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNA molecules with gene expression regulatory function, has been reported in all types of epithelial and haematological cancers. In particular, miR-221-5p alterations have been reported in PCa. Methods miRNA expression data was retrieved from a comprehensive publicly available dataset of 218 PCa patients (GSE21036) and miR-221-5p expression levels were analysed. The functional role of miR-221-5p was characterised in androgen- dependent and androgen- independent PCa cell line models (C4-2 and PC-3M-Pro4 cells) by miR-221-5p overexpression and knock-down experiments. The metastatic potential of highly aggressive PC-3M-Pro4 cells overexpressing miR-221-5p was determined by studying extravasation in a zebrafish model. Finally, the effect of miR-221-5p overexpression on the growth of PC-3M-Pro4luc2 cells in vivo was studied by orthotopic implantation in male Balb/cByJ nude mice and assessment of tumor growth. Results Analysis of microRNA expression dataset for human primary and metastatic PCa samples and control normal adjacent benign prostate revealed miR-221-5p to be significantly downregulated in PCa compared to normal prostate tissue and in metastasis compared to primary PCa. Our in vitro data suggest that miR-221-5p overexpression reduced PCa cell proliferation and colony formation. Furthermore, miR-221-5p overexpression dramatically reduced migration of PCa cells, which was associated with differential expression of selected EMT markers. The functional changes of miR-221-5p overexpression were reversible by the loss of miR-221-5p levels, indicating that the tumor suppressive effects were specific to miR-221-5p. Additionally, miR-221-5p overexpression significantly reduced PC-3M-Pro4 cell extravasation and metastasis formation in a zebrafish model and decreased tumor burden in an orthotopic mouse model of PCa. Conclusions Together these data strongly support a tumor suppressive role of miR-221-5p in the context of PCa and its potential as therapeutic target.}, language = {en} } @unpublished{WernerBundschuhBundschuhetal.2018, author = {Werner, Rudolf A. and Bundschuh, Ralph A. and Bundschuh, Lena and Javadi, Mehrbod S. and Leal, Jeffrey P. and Higuchi, Takahiro and Pienta, Kenneth J. and Buck, Andreas K. and Pomper, Martin G. and Gorin, Michael A. and Lapa, Constantin and Rowe, Steven P.}, title = {Interobserver Agreement for the Standardized Reporting System PSMA-RADS 1.0 on \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL PET/CT Imaging}, series = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine}, journal = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine}, issn = {0161-5505}, doi = {10.2967/jnumed.118.217588}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-167788}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Objectives: Recently, the standardized reporting and data system for prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) imaging studies, termed PSMA-RADS version 1.0, was introduced. We aimed to determine the interobserver agreement for applying PSMA-RADS to imaging interpretation of 18F-DCFPyL PET examinations in a prospective setting mimicking the typical clinical work-flow at a prostate cancer referral center. Methods: Four readers (two experienced readers (ER, > 3 years of PSMA-targeted PET interpretation experience) and two inexperienced readers (IR, < 1 year of experience)), who had all read the initial publication on PSMA-RADS 1.0, assessed 50 18F-DCFPyL PET/computed tomography (CT) studies independently. Per scan, a maximum of 5 target lesions were selected by the observers and a PSMA-RADS score for every target lesion was recorded. No specific pre-existing conditions were placed on the selection of the target lesions, although PSMA-RADS 1.0 suggests that readers focus on the most highly avid or largest lesions. An overall scan impression based on PSMA-RADS was indicated and interobserver agreement rates on a target lesion-based, on an organ-based, and on an overall PSMA-RADS score-based level were computed. Results: The number of target lesions identified by each observer were as follows: ER 1, 123; ER 2, 134; IR 1, 123; and IR 2, 120. Among those selected target lesions, 125 were chosen by at least two individual observers (all four readers selected the same target lesion in 58/125 (46.4\%) instances, three readers in 40/125 (32\%) and two observers in 27/125 (21.6\%) instances). The interobserver agreement for PSMA-RADS scoring among identical target lesions was good (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for four, three and two identical target lesions, ≥0.60, respectively). For lymph nodes, an excellent interobserver agreement was derived (ICC=0.79). The interobserver agreement for an overall scan impression based on PSMA-RADS was also excellent (ICC=0.84), with a significant difference for ER (ICC=0.97) vs. IR (ICC=0.74, P=0.005). Conclusions: PSMA-RADS demonstrates a high concordance rate in this study, even among readers with different levels of experience. This suggests that PSMA-RADS can be effectively used for communication with clinicians and can be implemented in the collection of data for large prospective trials.}, subject = {Positronen-Emissions-Tomografie}, language = {en} } @unpublished{YinWernerHiguchietal.2018, author = {Yin, Yafu and Werner, Rudolf A. and Higuchi, Takahiro and Lapa, Constantin and Pienta, Kenneth J. and Pomper, Martin G. and Gorin, Michael A. and Rowe, Steven P.}, title = {Follow-Up of Lesions with Equivocal Radiotracer Uptake on PSMA-Targeted PET in Patients with Prostate Cancer: Predictive Values of the PSMA-RADS-3A and PSMARADS- 3B Categories}, series = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine}, journal = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine}, issn = {0161-5505}, doi = {10.2967/jnumed.118.217653}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-167594}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Purpose: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has become commonly utilized in patients with prostate cancer (PCa). The PSMA reporting and data system version 1.0 (PSMA-RADS version 1.0) categorizes lesions on the basis of the likelihood of PCa involvement, with PSMA-RADS-3A (soft tissue) and PSMA-RADS-3B (bone) lesions being indeterminate for the presence of disease. We retrospectively reviewed the imaging follow-up of such lesions to determine the rate at which they underwent changes suggestive of underlying PCa. Methods: PET/CT imaging with \(^{18}\)F-DCFPyL was carried out in 110 patients with PCa and lesions were categorized according to PSMA-RADS Version 1.0. 56/110 (50.9\%) patients were determined to have indeterminate PSMA-RADS-3A or PSMA-RADS-3B lesions and 22/56 (39.3\%) patients had adequate follow-up to be included in the analysis. The maximum standardized uptake values (SUV\(_{max}\)) of the lesions were obtained and the ratios of SUV\(_{max}\) of the lesions to SUV\(_{mean}\) of blood pool (SUV\(_{max}\)-lesion/SUV\(_{mean}\)-bloodpool) were calculated. Pre-determined criteria were used to evaluate the PSMA-RADS-3A and PSMA-RADS-3B lesions on follow-up imaging to determine if they demonstrated evidence of underlying malignancy. Results: A total of 46 lesions in 22 patients were considered indeterminate for PCa (i.e. PSMA-RADS-3A (32 lesions) or PSMA-RADS-3B (14 lesions)) and were evaluable on follow-up imaging. 27/46 (58.7\%) lesions demonstrated changes on follow-up imaging consistent with the presence of underlying PCa at baseline. These lesions included 24/32 (75.0\%) PSMA-RADS-3A lesions and 3/14 (21.4\%) lesions categorized as PSMA-RADS-3B. The ranges of SUVmax and SUVmax-lesion/SUVmean-bloodpool overlapped between those lesions demonstrating changes consistent with malignancy on follow-up imaging and those lesions that remained unchanged on follow-up. Conclusion: PSMA-RADS-3A and PSMA-RADS-3B lesions are truly indeterminate in that proportions of findings in both categories demonstrate evidence of malignancy on follow-up imaging. Overall, PSMA-RADS-3A lesions are more likely than PSMA-RADS-3B lesions to represent sites of PCa and this information should be taken into when guiding patient therapy.}, subject = {Positronen-Emissions-Tomografie}, language = {en} } @article{WernerBundschuhBundschuhetal.2018, author = {Werner, Rudolf A. and Bundschuh, Ralph A. and Bundschuh, Lena and Javadi, Mehrbod S. and Higuchi, Takahiro and Weich, Alexander and Sheikhbahaei, Sara and Pienta, Kenneth J. and Buck, Andreas K. and Pomper, Martin G. and Gorin, Michael A. and Lapa, Constantin and Rowe, Steven P.}, title = {MI-RADS: Molecular Imaging Reporting and Data Systems - A Generalizable Framework for Targeted Radiotracers with Theranostic Implications}, series = {Annals of Nuclear Medicine}, journal = {Annals of Nuclear Medicine}, issn = {0914-7187}, doi = {10.1007/s12149-018-1291-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-166995}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Both prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)- and somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents for staging and restaging of prostate carcinoma or neuroendocrine tumors, respectively, are seeing rapidly expanding use. In addition to diagnostic applications, both classes of radiotracers can be used to triage patients for theranostic endoradiotherapy. While interpreting PSMA- or SSTR-targeted PET/computed tomography (CT) scans, the reader has to be aware of certain pitfalls. Adding to the complexity of the interpretation of those imaging agents, both normal biodistribution, and also false-positive and -negative findings differ between PSMA- and SSTR-targeted PET radiotracers. Herein summarized under the umbrella term molecular imaging reporting and data systems (MI-RADS), two novel RADS classifications for PSMA- and SSTR-targeted PET imaging are described (PSMA- and SSTR-RADS). Both framework systems may contribute to increase the level of a reader's confidence and to navigate the imaging interpreter through indeterminate lesions, so that appropriate workup for equivocal findings can be pursued. Notably, PSMA- and SSTR-RADS are structured in a reciprocal fashion, i.e. if the reader is familiar with one system, the other system can readily be applied as well. In the present review we will discuss the most common pitfalls on PSMA- and SSTR-targeted PET/CT, briefly introduce PSMA- and SSTR-RADS, and define a future role of the umbrella framework MI-RADS compared to other harmonization systems.}, subject = {Positronen-Emissions-Tomografie}, language = {en} } @article{RichterPolatLawrenzetal.2016, author = {Richter, Anne and Polat, B{\"u}lent and Lawrenz, Ingulf and Weick, Stefan and Sauer, Otto and Flentje, Michael and Mantel, Frederick}, title = {Initial results for patient setup verification using transperineal ultrasound and cone beam CT in external beam radiation therapy of prostate cancer}, series = {Radiation Oncology}, volume = {11}, journal = {Radiation Oncology}, number = {147}, doi = {10.1186/s13014-016-0722-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-147677}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Evaluation of set up error detection by a transperineal ultrasound in comparison with a cone beam CT (CBCT) based system in external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) of prostate cancer. Methods: Setup verification was performed with transperineal ultrasound (TPUS) and CBCT for 10 patients treated with EBRT for prostate cancer. In total, 150 ultrasound and CBCT scans were acquired in rapid succession and analyzed for setup errors. The deviation between setup errors of the two modalities was evaluated separately for each dimension. Results: A moderate correlation in lateral, vertical and longitudinal direction was observed comparing the setup errors. Mean differences between TPUS and CBCT were (-2.7 ± 2.3) mm, (3.0 ± 2.4) mm and (3.2 ± 2.7) mm in lateral, vertical and longitudinal direction, respectively. The mean Euclidean difference between TPUS and CBCT was (6.0 ± 3.1) mm. Differences up to 19.2 mm were observed between the two imaging modalities. Discrepancies between TPUS and CBCT of at least 5 mm occurred in 58 \% of monitored treatment sessions. Conclusion: Setup differences between TPUS and CBCT are 6 mm on average. Although the correlation of the setup errors determined by the two different image modalities is rather week, the combination of setup verification by CBCT and intrafraction motion monitoring by TPUS imaging can use the benefits of both imaging modalities.}, language = {en} } @article{PeckSchugZhangetal.2016, author = {Peck, Barrie and Schug, Zachary T. and Zhang, Qifeng and Dankworth, Beatrice and Jones, Dylan T. and Smethurst, Elizabeth and Patel, Rachana and Mason, Susan and Jian, Ming and Saunders, Rebecca and Howell, Michael and Mitter, Richard and Spencer-Dene, Bradley and Stamp, Gordon and McGarry, Lynn and James, Daniel and Shanks, Emma and Aboagye, Eric O. and Critchlow, Susan E. and Leung, Hing Y. and Harris, Adrian L. and Wakelam, Michael J. O. and Gottlieb, Eyal and Schulze, Almut}, title = {Inhibition of fatty acid desaturation is detrimental to cancer cell survival in metabolically compromised environments}, series = {Cancer \& Metabolism}, volume = {4}, journal = {Cancer \& Metabolism}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1186/s40170-016-0146-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-145905}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Background Enhanced macromolecule biosynthesis is integral to growth and proliferation of cancer cells. Lipid biosynthesis has been predicted to be an essential process in cancer cells. However, it is unclear which enzymes within this pathway offer the best selectivity for cancer cells and could be suitable therapeutic targets. Results Using functional genomics, we identified stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), an enzyme that controls synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, as essential in breast and prostate cancer cells. SCD inhibition altered cellular lipid composition and impeded cell viability in the absence of exogenous lipids. SCD inhibition also altered cardiolipin composition, leading to the release of cytochrome C and induction of apoptosis. Furthermore, SCD was required for the generation of poly-unsaturated lipids in cancer cells grown in spheroid cultures, which resemble those found in tumour tissue. We also found that SCD mRNA and protein expression is elevated in human breast cancers and predicts poor survival in high-grade tumours. Finally, silencing of SCD in prostate orthografts efficiently blocked tumour growth and significantly increased animal survival. Conclusions Our data implicate lipid desaturation as an essential process for cancer cell survival and suggest that targeting SCD could efficiently limit tumour expansion, especially under the metabolically compromised conditions of the tumour microenvironment.}, language = {en} } @article{BluemelLinkeHerrmannetal.2016, author = {Bluemel, Christina and Linke, Fraenze and Herrmann, Ken and Simunovic, Iva and Eiber, Matthias and Kestler, Christian and Buck, Andreas K. and Schirbel, Andreas and Bley, Thorsten A. and Wester, Hans-Juergen and Vergho, Daniel and Becker, Axel}, title = {Impact of \(^{68}\)Ga-PSMA PET/CT on salvage radiotherapy planning in patients with prostate cancer and persisting PSA values or biochemical relapse after prostatectomy}, series = {EJNMMI Research}, volume = {6}, journal = {EJNMMI Research}, number = {78}, doi = {10.1186/s13550-016-0233-4}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-147798}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Background Salvage radiotherapy (SRT) is clinically established in prostate cancer (PC) patients with PSA persistence or biochemical relapse (BCR) after prior radical surgery. PET/CT imaging prior to SRT may be performed to localize disease recurrence. The recently introduced \(^{68}\)Ga-PSMA outperforms other PET tracers for detection of recurrence and is therefore expected also to impact radiation planning. Forty-five patients with PSA persistence (16 pts) or BCR (29 pts) after prior prostatectomy, scheduled to undergo SRT of the prostate bed, underwent \(^{68}\)Ga-PSMA PET/CT. The median PSA level was 0.67 ng/ml. The impact of \(^{68}\)Ga-PSMA PET/CT on the treatment decision was assessed. Patients with oligometastatic (≤5 lesions) PC underwent radiotherapy (RT), with the extent of the RT area and dose escalation being based on PET positivity. Results Suspicious lesions were detected in 24/45 (53.3 \%) patients. In 62.5 \% of patients, lesions were only detected by 68Ga-PSMA PET. Treatment was changed in 19/45 (42.2 \%) patients, e.g., extending SRT to metastases (9/19), administering dose escalation in patients with morphological local recurrence (6/19), or replacing SRT by systemic therapy (2/19). 38/45 (84.4 \%) followed the treatment recommendation, with data on clinical follow-up being available in 21 patients treated with SRT. All but one showed biochemical response (mean PSA decline 78 ± 19 \%) within a mean follow-up of 8.12 ± 5.23 months. Conclusions \(^{68}\)Ga-PSMA PET/CT impacts treatment planning in more than 40 \% of patients scheduled to undergo SRT. Future prospective studies are needed to confirm this significant therapeutic impact on patients prior to SRT.}, language = {en} } @article{HechtErberHarreretal.2015, author = {Hecht, Markus and Erber, Sonja and Harrer, Thomas and Klinker, Hartwig and Roth, Thomas and Parsch, Hans and Fiebig, Nora and Fietkau, Rainer and Distel, Luitpold V.}, title = {Efavirenz Has the Highest Anti-Proliferative Effect of Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors against Pancreatic Cancer Cells}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {10}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0130277}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151694}, pages = {e0130277}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Background Cancer prevention and therapy in HIV-1-infected patients will play an important role in future. The non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) Efavirenz and Nevirapine are cytotoxic against cancer cells in vitro. As other NNRTIs have not been studied so far, all clinically used NNRTIs were tested and the in vitro toxic concentrations were compared to drug levels in patients to predict possible anti-cancer effects in vivo. Methods Cytotoxicity was studied by Annexin-V-APC/7AAD staining and flow cytometry in the pancreatic cancer cell lines BxPC-3 and Panc-1 and confirmed by colony formation assays. The 50\% effective cytotoxic concentrations (EC50) were calculated and compared to the blood levels in our patients and published data. Results The in vitro EC50 of the different drugs in the BxPC-3 pancreatic cancer cells were: Efavirenz 31.5\(\mu\)mol/l (= 9944ng/ml), Nevirapine 239\(\mu\)mol/l (= 63786ng/ml), Etravirine 89.0\(\mu\)mol/l (= 38740ng/ml), Lersivirine 543\(\mu\)mol/l (= 168523ng/ml), Delavirdine 171\(\mu\)mol/l (= 78072ng/ml), Rilpivirine 24.4\(\mu\)mol/l (= 8941ng/ml). As Efavirenz and Rilpivirine had the highest cytotoxic potential and Nevirapine is frequently used in HIV-1 positive patients, the results of these three drugs were further studied in Panc-1 pancreatic cancer cells and confirmed with colony formation assays. 205 patient blood levels of Efavirenz, 127 of Rilpivirine and 31 of Nevirapine were analyzed. The mean blood level of Efavirenz was 3587ng/ml (range 162-15363ng/ml), of Rilpivirine 144ng/ml (range 0-572ng/ml) and of Nevirapine 4955ng/ml (range 1856-8697ng/ml). Blood levels from our patients and from published data had comparable Efavirenz levels to the in vitro toxic EC50 in about 1 to 5\% of all patients. Conclusion All studied NNRTIs were toxic against cancer cells. A low percentage of patients taking Efavirenz reached in vitro cytotoxic blood levels. It can be speculated that in HIV-1 positive patients having high Efavirenz blood levels pancreatic cancer incidence might be reduced. Efavirenz might be a new option in the treatment of cancer.}, language = {en} } @article{HailerGrunewaldOrthetal.2014, author = {Hailer, Amelie and Grunewald, Thomas G. P. and Orth, Martin and Reiss, Cora and Kneitz, Burkhard and Spahn, Martin and Butt, Elke}, title = {Loss of tumor suppressor mir-203 mediates overexpression of LIM and SH3 Protein 1 (LASP1) in high-risk prostate cancer thereby increasing cell proliferation and migration}, series = {Oncotarget}, volume = {5}, journal = {Oncotarget}, number = {12}, issn = {1949-2553}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-120540}, pages = {4144-53}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Several studies have linked overexpression of the LIM and SH3 domain protein 1 (LASP1) to progression of breast, colon, liver, and bladder cancer. However, its expression pattern and role in human prostate cancer (PCa) remained largely undefined. Analysis of published microarray data revealed a significant overexpression of LASP1 in PCa metastases compared to parental primary tumors and normal prostate epithelial cells. Subsequent gene-set enrichment analysis comparing LASP1-high and -low PCa identified an association of LASP1 with genes involved in locomotory behavior and chemokine signaling. These bioinformatic predictions were confirmed in vitro as the inducible short hairpin RNA-mediated LASP1 knockdown impaired migration and proliferation in LNCaP prostate cancer cells. By immunohistochemical staining and semi-quantitative image analysis of whole tissue sections we found an enhanced expression of LASP1 in primary PCa and lymph node metastases over benign prostatic hyperplasia. Strong cytosolic and nuclear LASP1 immunoreactivity correlated with PSA progression. Conversely, qRT-PCR analyses for mir-203, which is a known translational suppressor of LASP1 in matched RNA samples revealed an inverse correlation of LASP1 protein and mir-203 expression. Collectively, our results suggest that loss of mir-203 expression and thus uncontrolled LASP1 overexpression might drive progression of PCa.}, language = {en} } @article{RouhigharabaeiFerreiroTousseynetal.2014, author = {Rouhigharabaei, Leila and Ferreiro, Julio Finalet and Tousseyn, Thomas and van der Krogt, Jo-Anne and Put, Natalie and Haralambieva, Eugenia and Graux, Carlos and Maes, Brigitte and Vicente, Carmen and Vandenberghe, Peter and Cools, Jan and Wlodarska, Iwona}, title = {Non-IG Aberrations of FOXP1 in B-Cell Malignancies Lead to an Aberrant Expression of N-Truncated Isoforms of FOXP1}, series = {PLOS ONE}, volume = {9}, journal = {PLOS ONE}, number = {1}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0085851}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-117679}, pages = {e85851}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The transcription factor FOXP1 is implicated in the pathogenesis of B-cell lymphomas through chromosomal translocations involving either immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) locus or non-IG sequences. The former translocation, t(3; 14)(p13; q32), results in dysregulated expression of FOXP1 juxtaposed with strong regulatory elements of IGH. Thus far, molecular consequences of rare non-IG aberrations of FOXP1 remain undetermined. Here, using molecular cytogenetics and molecular biology studies, we comprehensively analyzed four lymphoma cases with non-IG rearrangements of FOXP1 and compared these with cases harboring t(3; 14)(p13; q32)/IGH-FOXP1 and FOXP1-expressing lymphomas with no apparent structural aberrations of the gene. Our study revealed that non-IG rearrangements of FOXP1 are usually acquired during clinical course of various lymphoma subtypes, including diffuse large B cell lymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and correlate with a poor prognosis. Importantly, these aberrations constantly target the coding region of FOXP1, promiscuously fusing with coding and non-coding gene sequences at various reciprocal breakpoints (2q36, 10q24 and 3q11). The non-IG rearrangements of FOXP1, however, do not generate functional chimeric genes but commonly disrupt the full-length FOXP1 transcript leading to an aberrant expression of N-truncated FOXP1 isoforms (FOXP1NT), as shown by QRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. In contrast, t(3; 14)(p13; q32)/IGH-FOXP1 affects the 59 untranslated region of FOXP1 and results in overexpress the full-length FOXP1 protein (FOXP1FL). RNA-sequencing of a few lymphoma cases expressing FOXP1NT and FOXP1FL detected neither FOXP1-related fusions nor FOXP1 mutations. Further bioinformatic analysis of RNA-sequencing data retrieved a set of genes, which may comprise direct or non-direct targets of FOXP1NT, potentially implicated in disease progression. In summary, our findings point to a dual mechanism through which FOXP1 is implicated in B-cell lymphomagenesis. We hypothesize that the primary t(3; 14)(p13; q32)/IGH-FOXP1 activates expression of the FOXP1FL protein with potent oncogenic activity, whereas the secondary non-IG rearrangements of FOXP1 promote expression of the FOXP1NT proteins, likely driving progression of disease.}, language = {en} } @article{WangChenMinevetal.2013, author = {Wang, Huiqiang and Chen, Nanhai G. and Minev, Boris R. and Zimmermann, Martina and Aguilar, Richard J. and Zhang, Qian and Sturm, Julia B. and Fend, Falko and Yu, Yong A. and Cappello, Joseph and Lauer, Ulrich M. and Szalay, Aladar A.}, title = {Optical Detection and Virotherapy of Live Metastatic Tumor Cells in Body Fluids with Vaccinia Strains}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {8}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {9}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0071105}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130059}, pages = {e71105}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Metastatic tumor cells in body fluids are important targets for treatment, and critical surrogate markers for evaluating cancer prognosis and therapeutic response. Here we report, for the first time, that live metastatic tumor cells in blood samples from mice bearing human tumor xenografts and in blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with cancer were successfully detected using a tumor cell-specific recombinant vaccinia virus (VACV). In contrast to the FDA-approved CellSearch system, VACV detects circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in a cancer biomarker-independent manner, thus, free of any bias related to the use of antibodies, and can be potentially a universal system for detection of live CTCs of any tumor type, not limited to CTCs of epithelial origin. Furthermore, we demonstrate for the first time that VACV was effective in preventing and reducing circulating tumor cells in mice bearing human tumor xenografts. Importantly, a single intra-peritoneal delivery of VACV resulted in a dramatic decline in the number of tumor cells in the ascitic fluid from a patient with gastric cancer. Taken together, these results suggest VACV to be a useful tool for quantitative detection of live tumor cells in liquid biopsies as well as a potentially effective treatment for reducing or eliminating live tumor cells in body fluids of patients with metastatic disease.}, language = {en} } @article{SchubertSpahnKneitzetal.2013, author = {Schubert, Maria and Spahn, Martin and Kneitz, Susanne and Scholz, Claus J{\"u}rgen and Joniau, Steven and Stroebel, Philipp and Riedmiller, Hubertus and Kneitz, Burkhard}, title = {Distinct microRNA Expression Profile in Prostate Cancer Patients with Early Clinical Failure and the Impact of let-7 as Prognostic Marker in High-Risk Prostate Cancer}, series = {PLoS ONE}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0065064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96825}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background The identification of additional prognostic markers to improve risk stratification and to avoid overtreatment is one of the most urgent clinical needs in prostate cancer (PCa). MicroRNAs, being important regulators of gene expression, are promising biomarkers in various cancer entities, though the impact as prognostic predictors in PCa is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to identify specific miRNAs as potential prognostic markers in high-risk PCa and to validate their clinical impact. Methodology and Principal Findings We performed miRNA-microarray analysis in a high-risk PCa study group selected by their clinical outcome (clinical progression free survival (CPFS) vs. clinical failure (CF)). We identified seven candidate miRNAs (let-7a/b/c, miR-515-3p/5p, -181b, -146b, and -361) that showed differential expression between both groups. Further qRT-PCR analysis revealed down-regulation of members of the let-7 family in the majority of a large, well-characterized high-risk PCa cohort (n = 98). Expression of let-7a/b/and -c was correlated to clinical outcome parameters of this group. While let-7a showed no association or correlation with clinical relevant data, let-7b and let-7c were associated with CF in PCa patients and functioned partially as independent prognostic marker. Validation of the data using an independent high-risk study cohort revealed that let-7b, but not let-7c, has impact as an independent prognostic marker for BCR and CF. Furthermore, we identified HMGA1, a non-histone protein, as a new target of let-7b and found correlation of let-7b down-regulation with HMGA1 over-expression in primary PCa samples. Conclusion Our findings define a distinct miRNA expression profile in PCa cases with early CF and identified let-7b as prognostic biomarker in high-risk PCa. This study highlights the importance of let-7b as tumor suppressor miRNA in high-risk PCa and presents a basis to improve individual therapy for high-risk PCa patients.}, language = {en} } @article{SchubertJoniauGonteroetal.2012, author = {Schubert, Maria and Joniau, Steven and Gontero, Paolo and Kneitz, Susanne and Scholz, Claus-J{\"u}rgen and Kneitz, Burkhard and Briganti, Alberto and Karnes, R. Jeffery and Tombal, Bertrand and Walz, Jochen and Hsu, Chao-Yu and Marchioro, Giansilvio and Bader, Pia and Bangma, Chris and Frohneberg, Detlef and Graefen, Markus and Schr{\"o}der, Fritz and van Cangh, Paul and van Poppel, Hein and Spahn, Martin}, title = {The Role of Adjuvant Hormonal Treatment after Surgery for Localized High-Risk Prostate Cancer: Results of a Matched Multiinstitutional Analysis}, series = {Advances in Urology}, volume = {2012}, journal = {Advances in Urology}, doi = {10.1155/2012/612707}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-137712}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Introduction. To assess the role of adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in high-risk prostate cancer patients (PCa) after surgery. Materials and Methods. The analysis case matched 172 high-risk PCa patients with positive section margins or non-organ confined disease and negative lymph nodes to receive adjuvant ADT (group 1, n=86 ) or no adjuvant ADT (group 2, n=86). Results. Only 11.6\% of the patients died, 2.3\% PCa related. Estimated 5-10-year clinical progression-free survival was 96.9\% (94.3\%) for group 1 and 73.7\% (67.0\%) for group 2, respectively. Subgroup analysis identified men with T2/T3a tumors at low-risk and T3b margins positive disease at higher risk for progression. Conclusion. Patients with T2/T3a tumors are at low-risk for metastatic disease and cancer-related death and do not need adjuvant ADT. We identified men with T3b margin positive disease at highest risk for clinical progression. These patients benefit from immediate adjuvant ADT.}, language = {en} }