Semiquantitative Analysis in PET/CT Imaging of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer, affecting millions of men globally and having a significant burden on health care systems. During recent years, the rapid development of the nuclear medicine field and the wide use and application of positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) have significantly changed the diagnosis, treatment approach and patient outcomes. Semiquantitative analysis in PET/CT imaging quantifies the load of the disease in patients diagnosed with prostate cancer without measuring the precise amount of a radiotracer injected into the patient; instead, there is an indirect evaluation of the radiotracer using semiquantitative indices. Beginning with the standard uptake value (SUV) in Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT, various semiquantitative measures have been created and are now used for analyzing different radiotracers. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the importance of the semiquantitative analysis in PET/CT imaging with the use of prostate-specific radiotracers at the initial staging of prostate cancer, as well as in biochemical recurrence and in the metastatic state.