[⁶⁸Ga]Ga-PSMA-11: The First FDA-Approved ⁶⁸Ga-Radiopharmaceutical for PET Imaging of Prostate Cancer

• Main Authors: Ute Hennrich, Matthias Eder
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
• Series: Pharmaceuticals
• Subjects: [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-PSMA-11; PSMA; prostate cancer; theranostics; positron emission tomography (PET)
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/14/8/713
• ISSN: 1424-8247

For the positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of prostate cancer, radiotracers targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) are nowadays used in clinical practice. Almost 10 years after its discovery, [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 has been approved in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first ⁶⁸Ga-radiopharmaceutical for the PET imaging of PSMA-positive prostate cancer in 2020. This radiopharmaceutical combines the peptidomimetic Glu-NH-CO-NH-Lys(Ahx)-HBED-CC with the radionuclide ⁶⁸Ga, enabling specific imaging of tumor cells expressing PSMA. Such a targeting approach may also be used for therapy planning as well as potentially for the evaluation of treatment response.