Pancreatic Adenocarcinomas Detected on PSMA-PET Misreported as Benign Lesions

Authors

  • Adam McNamara Department of HPB Surgery, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, 4029, Australia
  • Isha Tipirneni Department of HPB Surgery, The Wesley Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, 4066, Australia
  • Jakob Kohler Department of Urology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, 24105, Germany
  • Nicholas O'Rourke Department of HPB Surgery, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, 4029, Australia; Department of HPB Surgery, The Wesley Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, 4066, Australia; Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4006, Australia

Keywords:

PSMA PET, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, diagnostic imaging, prostate-specific membrane antigen

Abstract

This paper explores the clinical implications of incidental PSMA ligand avidity in the pancreas. We present two cases referred to an author in Brisbane where PSMA-PET scans identified pancreatic lesions in patients undergoing preoperative evaluation for prostatectomy. In both cases, the radiology report misdiagnosed the pathology and falsely reassured the urologic surgeon. Subsequent resection with histopathological evaluation confirmed pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in both patients. These cases remind clinicians that PSMA avidity in the pancreas should warrant further investigation. There may also be potential value in evaluating pancreatic lesions of uncertain etiology.

References

Silver DA, Pellicer I, Fair WR, Heston WD, Cordon-Cardo C. Prostate-specific membrane antigen expression in normal and malignant human tissues. Clinical Cancer Research 1997;3:81–5.

Hofman MS, Lawrentschuk N, Francis RJ, Tang C, Vela I, Thomas P, et al. Prostate-specific membrane antigen PET-CT in patients with high-risk prostate cancer before curative-intent surgery or radiotherapy (proPSMA): a prospective, randomised, multicentre study. The Lancet 2020;395:1208–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30314-7.

Mhawech‐Fauceglia P, Zhang S, Terracciano L, Sauter G, Chadhuri A, Herrmann FR, et al. Prostate‐specific membrane antigen (PSMA) protein expression in normal and neoplastic tissues and its sensitivity and specificity in prostate adenocarcinoma: an immunohistochemical study using mutiple tumour tissue microarray technique. Histopathology 2007;50:472–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2559.2007.02635.x.

Lauri C, Chiurchioni L, Russo VM, Zannini L, Signore A. Psma expression in solid tumors beyond the prostate gland: ready for theranostic applications? Journal of Clinical Medicine 2022;11:6590. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11216590.

Bell‐Allen N, McNamara A, Bull N, Lewin J, O'Rourke N. Laparoscopic partial splenectomy in distal pancreatectomy may preserve splenic function. ANZ Journal of Surgery 2024;94:876–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/ans.18880.

Ren H, Zhang H, Wang X, Liu J, Yuan Z, Hao J. Prostate-specific membrane antigen as a marker of pancreatic cancer cells. Medical Oncology 2014;31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-014-0857-z.

Vuijk FA, de Muynck LDAN, Franken LC, Busch OR, Wilmink JW, Besselink MG, et al. Molecular targets for diagnostic and intraoperative imaging of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma after neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX treatment. Scientific Reports 2020;10:16211–16211. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-73242-6.

Sahbai S, Rieping P, Pfannenberg C, la Fougére C, Reimold M. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with high radiotracer uptake in 68Ga–prostate-specific membrane antigen PET/CT. Clinical Nuclear Medicine 2017;42:717–8. https://doi.org/10.1097/rlu.0000000000001767.

Santo G, Di Santo G, Zelger B, Virgolini I. Incidental finding of a pancreatic adenocarcinoma on [68ga]ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in a mCRPC patient under [177lu]lu-PSMA-617 radioligand therapy. Nuklearmedizin - NuclearMedicine 2024;63:219–20. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2221-3220.

Milowsky MI, Nanus DM, Kostakoglu L, Sheehan CE, Vallabhajosula S, Goldsmith SJ, et al. Vascular targeted therapy with anti–prostate-specific membrane antigen monoclonal antibody J591 in advanced solid tumors. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2007;25:540–7. https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2006.07.8097.

Sirtl S, Todica A, Ilhan H, Zorniak M, Bartenstein P, Mayerle J. Incidental finding of a PSMA-positive pancreatic cancer in a patient suffering from a metastasized PSMA-positive prostate cancer. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021;11:129. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11010129.

Puik JR, Poels TT, Cysouw MC, Hooijer GK, Giovannetti E, Kazemier G, et al. 18F-prostate-specific membrane antigen PET/CT as a potential novel imaging modality for pancreatic cancer (PanScan-2): a phase I/II study. HPB 2023;25:S436–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpb.2023.07.507.

McGahan W, Chikatamarla V, Thomas P, Cavallucci D, O'Rourke N, Burge M. High SUVmax on routine pre-operative FDG-PET predicts early recurrence in pancreatic and peri-ampullary cancer. HPB 2022;24:1387–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpb.2022.01.005.

Burge ME, O'Rourke N, Cavallucci D, Bryant R, Francesconi A, Houston K, et al. A prospective study of the impact of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with concurrent non-contrast CT scanning on the management of operable pancreatic and peri-ampullary cancers. HPB (Oxford) 2015;17:624–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/hpb.12418.

Krishnaraju VS, Kumar R, Mittal BR, Sharma V, Singh H, Nada R, et al. Differentiating benign and malignant pancreatic masses: Ga-68 PSMA PET/CT as a new diagnostic avenue. European Radiology 2021;31:2199–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-020-07318-2.

Matsumoto I, Shirakawa S, Shinzeki M, Asari S, Goto T, Ajiki T, et al. 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography does not aid in diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2013;11:712–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2012.12.033.

Conway RE, Petrovic N, Li Z, Heston W, Wu D, Shapiro LH. Prostate-specific membrane antigen regulates angiogenesis by modulating integrin signal transduction. Molecular and Cellular Biology 2006;26:5310–24. https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.00084-06.

Chang SS, O'Keefe DS, Bacich DJ, Reuter VE, Heston WD, Gaudin PB. Prostate-specific membrane antigen is produced in tumor-associated neovasculature. Clinical Cancer Research 1999;5:2674–81.

Morales MI, Erhard A, Lozano MD, Quincoces G, Richter JA, Rodríguez-Fraile M. Incidental diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumor with 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT: Report of clinical case. Revista Española de Medicina Nuclear e Imagen Molecular (English Edition) 2020;39:102–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.remnie.2019.11.001.

Vamadevan S, Shetty D, Le K, Bui C, Mansberg R, Loh H. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) avid pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. Clinical Nuclear Medicine 2016;41:804–6. https://doi.org/10.1097/rlu.0000000000001308.

McEwan L, McBean R, Yaxley J, Wong D. Unexpected significant findings non‐related to prostate cancer identified using combined prostate‐specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/CT and diagnostic CT scan in primary staging for prostate cancer. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology 2019;63:318–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/1754-9485.12864.

Lu Y, Li C. Incidental findings of coexisting metastatic pancreatic cancer in patients with prostate cancer on 18F–prostate-specific membrane antigen PET/CT. Clinical Nuclear Medicine 2022;47:1103–4. https://doi.org/10.1097/rlu.0000000000004338.

Downloads

Published

2024-12-22

Issue

Section

Case Reports

How to Cite

McNamara, A., Tipirneni, I., Kohler, J., & O'Rourke, N. (2024). Pancreatic Adenocarcinomas Detected on PSMA-PET Misreported as Benign Lesions. HPB Cancer International, 2(1). https://rasayely-journals.com/index.php/hpbci/article/view/141