Dr. Melissa Huynh, MD

PET/CT Imaging

for Kidney Cancer

Staging of kidney cancer is primarily achieved by computerized tomography (CT) scans or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). If a patient is found to have limited metastatic disease, surgical removal or radiation therapy could be considered in order to control the majority of the disease. However, if metastases are more widespread, systemic (drug) therapy may be the preferred management option. The identification of additional metastatic sites using more sensitive imaging modalities therefore has the potential to alter management, and this remains an unmet need in the field. This study will investigate the utility of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with PSMA (prostate specific membrane antigen). Kidney cancer of the clear cell subtype has demonstrated high expression of PSMA, making it a disease in which PSMA-targeted PET imaging could help to identify occult metastatic disease.