I have a 4 mm suspected lesion on a hip bone. It was suspected on MRI scan but didn’t show on 18F dcfpyl scan. RO Is suggested to treat it without biopsy with 5 sessions SBRT. I have 2 questions please,:
1) should I treat it despite the fact it was not confirmed because it’s hard to do a biopsy there? May be it’s nit even cancer
2) if I treat it with SBRT, should I do short course of ADT or no ADT?
Thanks for your input.
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StayingOptimistic
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"suspected" lesion ? The risk of no treatment is equal to risk of overtreatment...That's just my personal belief....let our fears not cloud our good judgement..
It is a difficult call, I am sort of in the same spot. My Research Doctor asked if I would do a pelvic bone biopsy or a biopsy of the prostate bed. I know he is leaning toward a biopsy of the pelvic bone and I am leaning toward the prostate bed. To be treated blindly is scary but not to be treated at all is scary. If I were you, I would go for treatment without the biopsy.
I would not get irradiated a suspected lesion which so far is PSMA negative and very small. I will request to follow the lesion. If your PSA is going up consider to have another PSMA pet/ct with a PSA greater than 1
I was in the same boat. Three small lesions found on the most advanced (at the time ) scan. “Highly suspicious for mets” they said. I considered a biopsy but the location and size made it difficult. Very possible to get a false negative. So I did the SBRT. No side affects at all from that. If you can afford the PSMA test (insurance doesn’t cover it-too new) you could get a much better idea. Virtually every Dr in the know now considers it the best scan for detecting early mets. About $2,800 out of pocket. You may find other small mets to hit at the same time.
I did the scan on 3/15, psma 18 f dcfpyl at NIH. actually NIH did both, the MRI and the PSMA. that is almost 4 months ago now. The mri found it but the psma was negative, nothing there. So, not sure what to do.
I’d get a second opinion on the scans and see if two Radiolgists agree it’s likely the cancer. I’d talk to the dr who’d do the sbrt on the spot and ask about any risks at that location. If he feels kind the risks are extremely low, and two radiologists say over 50% chance it’s cancer, I’d do it but then again I’m pretty aggressive on my treatment.
I would do ADT, can't hurt. A few years back, I had a couple of similar "suspected lesions". SBRT was recommended without biopsy. I opted for ADT and today those suspected lesions are not seen although others have taken their place.
4mm is at the limit of detection for either scan, and artifacts are very possible. Why would you expose yourself to radiation for something that may not be there and for which there is no proven benefit even if it is there.
Thanks TA, I know you have the studies that treating oligometastatic disease is questionable. The thing is I consulted with MO at MSK and initially he suggested starting ADT and I think when I went and got the psma scans he said said, now let’s refer you to RO In MSK also and suggested SBRT, then I went and got a second thoughts from RO at mount Sinai who also suggested treating it with SBRT. now, I can’t make up my mind which way to go and am going crazy. This is MORE difficult than making the RP or the SRT.
I had one hip met detected by PSMA scan and radiated that with SBRT. The oncologists at Johns Hopkins and Dana Farber Cancer Institute recommended starting ADT in conjunction with the SBRT. The presumption is that if you have one detectable met, there may be other micro-metastases that should be treated systemically. We settled on 15 months of ADT after the SBRT. Good luck
Our goal with APC should be to not see ANY metabolic activity on the relevant scans. You stated that the 18F scan was negative. Personally I would wait 6 months and ask that the scan be redone. The RO will likely acknowledge that there’s no proof of benefit to irradiating the lesion when the time comes. This is true, but...Nonetheless you might wish to be aggressive with your treatment plan. I have done so myself.
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