Utility of PSMA PET/CT in Staging and Restaging of Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Metaanalysis

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is expressed in the neovasculature of multiple solid tumors, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Studies have demonstrated promising results on the utility of PSMA-targeted PET/CT imaging in RCC. This report aims to provide a systematic review and metaanalysis on the utility and detection rate of PSMA PET/CT imaging in staging or evaluation of primary RCC and restaging of metastatic or recurrent RCC. Methods: Searches were performed in PubMed, Embase, and abstract proceedings (last updated, August 2023). Studies that provided a lesion-level detection rate of PSMA radiotracers in staging or restaging of RCC were included in the metaanalysis. The overall pooled detection rate with a 95% CI was estimated, and subgroup analysis was performed when feasible. Results: Nine studies comprising 152 patients (133 clear cell RCC [ccRCC], 19 other RCC subtypes) were included in the metaanalysis. The pooled detection rate of PSMA PET/CT in evaluation of primary or metastatic RCC was estimated to be 0.83 (95% CI, 0.67–0.92). Subgroup analysis showed a pooled PSMA detection rate of 0.74 (95% CI, 0.57–0.86) in staging or evaluation of primary RCC lesions and 0.87 (95% CI, 0.73–0.95) in restaging of metastatic or recurrent RCC. Analysis based on the type of radiotracer showed a pooled detection rate of 0.85 (95% CI, 0.62–0.95) for ⁶⁸Ga-based PSMA tracers and 0.92 (95% CI, 0.76–0.97) for ¹⁸F-DCFPyL PET/CT. Furthermore, in metastatic ccRCC, the available data support a significantly higher detection rate for ¹⁸F-DCFPyL PET/CT than for conventional imaging modalities (2 studies). Conclusion: Our preliminary results show that PSMA PET/CT could be a promising alternative imaging modality for evaluating RCC, particularly metastatic ccRCC. Large prospective studies are warranted to confirm clinical utility in the staging and restaging of RCC.