JENCC Offering New Cutting-Edge Scan To Better Diagnose Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the top 3 cancers diagnosed in the United States. Even though initial treatment for prostate cancer can be curative, up to 50% of patients experience a return or recurrence of the disease within 10 years. The June E. Nylen Cancer Center is one of the first clinics in the region to offer a new type of PET scan to help better identify prostate cancer.

With the Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) Scan the patient is injected with a specific type of radioactive agent called fluorine-18 that will attach to PSMA, which is a protein found on the surface of most prostate cancer cells. This helps create a more clear, more detailed diagnostic image for your doctor which leads to a more informed diagnosis and treatment plan.

The June E. Nylen Cancer Center will accept referrals from any primary care or specialty physician for this scan that helps in the early detection of prostate cancer in men. Talk to your physician if this scan is right for you. Once scheduled, we will provide further instructions for you.

The PSMA scan is covered by most insurance plans, but each plan differs because is not considered a standard PET scan and may have different requirements for pre-authorization. Our clinic will work with your ordering physician to ensure the pre-authorization of the scan.

Dr. Samuel Andrews, Radiation Oncologist, says, "This is a big deal for Sioux City and the community served by JENCC. To say I am excited is an understatement. This is indeed a state-of-the-art win for patients."

He continues, "The PSMA-PET (Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen-PET) is an emerging imaging tool that is not available within a 100-mile radius of JENCC. It is cutting edge. We now have the ability to use radiolabeled antigens to target prostate specific membrane to locate prostate cancer cells. Thus, we can see where the prostate cancer is with a high level of confidence. Research has demonstrated that the PSMA-PET is superior to bone scan, CT imaging and the previous Axumin PET as it relates to detecting prostate cancer."

 "With more accurate imaging, we can see what we need to target. Furthermore, instead of select patients needing two different scans, now patients may be eligible for just one high-quality scan. I credit JENCC's leadership and staff for being nimble enough, reacting quickly to physician requests, and caring enough to bring an elevated level of quality to this community."

This image is from a PYLARIFY® Case Study and shows the clear detail of metastatic prostate cancer. The radioactive agent, fluorine-18, used in this new scan will attach to PSMA, a protein found on the surface of most prostate cancer cells. This helps create a more clear, more detailed diagnostic image for your doctor which leads to a more informed diagnosis and treatment plan.