Ga68PSMA PET has been shown to be able to pinpoint prostate cancer cells with a high level of accuracy and specificity. However, it is labeled with 68-Gallium instead of the much more common 18-Fluorine. Because the half-life of Gallium-68 is only 68 minutes, the St. Antonius hospital chose to start generating the radioisotope in-house. “We are very proud of our Ga68PSMA PET, and we believe this is a large step forward in prostate cancer imaging,” says Dr. Jules Lavalaye, nuclear medicine physician at the St. Antonius. “The images are overwhelming in clarity, detecting metastases at a very early stage. We are convinced that Ga68PSMA PET will profoundly change diagnostics in prostate cancer, and improve patient outcome.”

To acquire this capability, the hospital incorporated a gallium generator and set up an entirely new labeling procedure in the nuclear medicine department. A Philips PET/CT system is used to acquire the Ga68PSMA PET images. “It was not easy to introduce the gallium generator and labeling procedure into the department,” says Lavalaye, “and it is good to emphasize the effort and investment it takes. Good cooperation with the radiopharmacists and medical physicists was essential in this. The revenue, however, is high.”