Scanning the situation
Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in Dutch men. After diagnosis, a specific type of PET scan using radioactive markers that bind to prostate-specific membrane antigens (PSMA PET-CT scan) indicates if it has spread beyond the prostate. The resulting image is then visually analyzed by doctors to determine a treatment plan.
The AI advantage
Dr. Daniela Oprea-Lager and her team hypothesize they can better predict outcomes for prostate cancer patients by applying artificial intelligence to PSMA PET-CT images. That’s why Cancer Center Amsterdam Foundation is funding a research project called ‘Artificial intelligence-based response prediction on diagnostic PSMA PET-CT as a tool for a personalized treatment approach in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.’ Using artificial intelligence algorithms created using available data and their own prework, the team aims to predict treatment effects and thus provide a more personalized treatment plan. “Using artificial intelligence, we can extract information from PSMA PET-CT scans that doctors cannot visually estimate,” declares Dr. Oprea-Lager.
Furthermore, this project will provide insight into the diversity of PSMA-expression within tumors that are resistant to treatment. It will also offer insight into the development of prostate cancer that continues to progress in some patients, despite hormone therapy.
Dr. Daniela Oprea-Lager, lead principal investigator
For more information, please contact Dr. Daniela Oprea-Lager by email: d.oprea-lager@amsterdamumc.nl
People involved at Cancer Center Amsterdam – Amsterdam UMC:
Dr. Daniela Oprea-Lager, nuclear medicine physician
Dr. André Vis, urologist
Prof. dr. Ronald Boellaard, clinical physicist
Dr. Matthijs Cysouw, post-doctoral researcher
Dr. Wietske Luining, PhD candidate
Text by Lynita Howie