PSMA theranostics: Current landscape and future outlook

Abstract

Introduction: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a promising novel molecular target for imaging diagnostics and therapeutics (theranostics). There has been a growing body of evidence supporting PSMA theranostics approaches in optimizing the management of prostate cancer and potentially altering its natural history. Methods: We utilized PubMed and Google Scholar for published studies, and clinicaltrials.gov for planned, ongoing, and completed clinical trials in PSMA theranostics as of June 2021. We presented evolving evidence for various PSMA-targeted radiopharmaceutical agents in the treatment paradigm for prostate cancer, as well as combination treatment strategies with other targeted therapy and immunotherapy. We highlighted the emerging evidence of PSMA and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT as a predictive biomarker for PSMA radioligand therapy. We identified seven ongoing clinical trials in oligometastatic-directed therapy using PSMA PET imaging. We also presented a schematic overview of 17 key PSMA theranostic clinical trials throughout the various stages of prostate cancer. Conclusions: In this review, we presented the contemporary and future landscape of theranostic applications in prostate cancer with a focus on PSMA ligands. As PSMA theranostics will soon become the standard of care for the management of prostate cancer, we underscore the importance of integrating nuclear medicine physicians into the multidisciplinary team.