Talk Description
Institution: Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre - Victoria, Australia
Introduction: Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen position emission tomography (PSMA-PET) scans are available under Government subsidy as of 2022 for primary staging and re-staging of prostate cancer following biochemical recurrence (BCR). Our aim was to review the usage of PSMA-PET in Australia following subsidisation.
Methods: From July 2022 to June 2024, subsidy codes for PSMA-PET were extracted from the Medicare benefits scheme. These included codes for the primary staging, and re-staging in intermediate-high risk prostate cancer following BCR. Population-adjusted incidences were calculated using publicly available demographic data.
Results: During the study period, 64,654 PSMA-PET scans were performed, and most were in men aged 65-74 years. Between 2022 and 2023, the total number of initial staging PSMA-PET scans doubled from 10,615 to 21,328 representing a rate doubling of from 81.3 to 159.4 per 100,000 men. PSMA-PET scans in BCR doubled from 5,055 to 10,550 with a rate increase of 38.7 to 78.8 per 100,000 men. The largest rise in primary staging scans occurred in QLD whilst restaging scans for BCR increased the most in ACT. During the study period, linear regression indicated a significant rise in initial staging PSMA-PET scanning and scanning for BCR (p = 0.03 and 0.04, respectively).
Conclusion: PSMA-PET usage has increased across Australia since subsidisation. Contemporary literature supports the use of PSMA-PET in the staging of prostate cancer compared to Bone Scan and CT. Further work is necessary to examine the impact of MBS subsidisation of PSMA-PET on the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer in Australia.
Presenters
Authors
Authors
Dr Kieran Sandhu - , Prof Nathan Lawrentschuk - , Prof Declan Murphy -