LAUSR

Micro‐Abstract We retrospectively evaluated 262 individuals with intermediate‐ or high‐risk prostate cancer. Among patients at high risk, we identified a subgroup of individuals harboring very high‐risk (VHR) disease. Considering men with VHR disease (n = 28), 11C‐choline positron emission tomography/computed tomography versus contrast‐enhanced computed tomography had sensitivity and specificity of 71% and 92% versus 25% and 79%, respectively. Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of 11C‐choline positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for nodal staging of prostate cancer (PCa) in different populations of high‐risk patients. Patients and Methods: We evaluated 262 individuals with intermediate‐ or high‐risk PCa submitted to radical prostatectomy and extended pelvic lymph node dissection. Within men with high‐risk disease, we identified a subgroup of individuals harboring very high‐risk (VHR, n = 28) disease: clinical stage ≥ T2c and more than 5 cores with Gleason score 8‐10; primary biopsy Gleason score of 5; 3 high‐risk features; or prostate‐specific antigen ≥ 30 ng/mL. The diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT and contrast‐enhanced CT (CECT) was assessed after stratifying patients according to risk group classification on a patient‐ and anatomic region–based analysis. Results: On patient‐based analysis, considering high‐risk patients (n = 155), 11C‐choline PET/CT versus CECT had sensitivity and specificity of 50% and 76% versus 21% and 92%, respectively. Considering VHR men as separate subgroups (n = 28), 11C‐choline PET/CT versus CECT had sensitivity and specificity of 71% and 93% versus 25% and 79%, respectively. Accordingly, in the VHR category, the area under the curve of 11C‐choline PET/CT versus CECT was 0.86 (95% confidence interval, 0.71‐1.0) versus 0.69 (95% confidence interval, 0.52‐0.86), respectively. On anatomic region–based analysis, considering the VHR group, 11C‐choline PET/CT versus CECT had sensitivity and specificity of 70.6% and 95.5% versus 35.3% and 98.5%, respectively. Conclusion: Patients with VHR characteristics could represent the ideal candidate to undergo disease staging with PET/CT before surgery with the highest cost efficacy.