Head-to-head comparison of prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography and multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging in the detection of biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose Our main goal of this meta-analytical analysis was to evaluate the diagnostic effectiveness of PSMA PET/CT against mpMRI in the context of identifying biochemical recurrence in patients with prostate cancer. Methods A thorough search covering articles published until March 2023 was carried out across major databases like PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Studies examining the direct comparison of PSMA PET/CT and Multiparametric MRI in patients with prostate cancer suffering biochemical recurrence were included in the inclusion criteria. Using the renowned Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Performance Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) technique, each study's methodological rigor was assessed. Results We analyzed data from six eligible studies involving 290 patients in total. The combined data showed that for PSMA PET/CT and mpMRI, respectively, the pooled overall detection rates for recurrent prostate cancer (PCa) after definitive treatment were 0.69 (95% CI: 0.45-0.89) and 0.70 (95% CI: 0.44-0.91). The detection rates for local recurrence were specifically 0.52 (95% CI: 0.39-0.65) and 0.62 (95% CI: 0.31-0.89), while they were 0.50 (95% CI: 0.26-0.74) and 0.32 (95% CI: 0.18-0.48), respectively, for lymph node metastasis. Notably, there was no discernible difference between the two imaging modalities in terms of the overall detection rate (P=0.95). The detection rates for local recurrence and lymph node metastasis did not differ statistically significantly (P=0.55,0.23). Conclusion The performance of PSMA PET/CT and Multiparametric MRI in identifying biochemical recurrence in prostate cancer appears to be comparable. However, the meta-analysis's findings came from research with modest sample sizes. In this context, more extensive research should be conducted in the future.