Paul D. Maroni, MD, presented “Horizons of Diagnosis and Treatment with PSMA PET MRI” during the 24th Future Directions in Urology Symposium in August 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
How to cite: Maroni, Paul D. “Horizons of Diagnosis and Treatment with PSMA PET MRI.” August 2024. Accessed Dec 2024. https://grandroundsinurology.com/horizons-of-diagnosis-and-treatment-with-psma-pet-mri/
Horizons of Diagnosis and Treatment with PSMA PET MRI – Summary
Paul D. Maroni, MD, discusses advancements in prostate cancer imaging, emphasizing PSMA PET/MRI. Recent trends show that most new patients arrive with MRIs or even PSMA PET/CT scans; however, access to PSMA PET/MRI remains limited due to approval issues.
In this 10-minute presentation, Dr. Maroni highlights findings from the Primary Trial, which combines MRI and PSMA PET to screen for clinically significant cancers. This fusion is highly specific in identifying high-risk patients, potentially bypassing biopsies in specific cases. Moreover, studies in Canada are investigating PSMA PET/MRI’s role in guiding treatments like SBRT and focal ablation, indicating its potential as a prognostic and predictive biomarker.
Maroni suggests PSMA PET/MRI could serve in initial workups, replacing PET/CT, and aiding in post-treatment follow-up to assess cure or recurrence. There’s also interest in advancing fusion technology to overlay PSMA PET with pre-existing MRIs, optimizing cost-effectiveness and patient care by minimizing additional radiation.
The Future Directions in Urology Symposium (FDUS) is an annual urology think tank and non-CME educational summit that brings together industry figures and experts to discuss the current state of genitourinary care and define future directions in treatment. Dr. Dreicer delivered this educational activity during the 24th iteration of the meeting in August 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul D. Maroni, MD, is the Program Leader of the Urologic Oncology Program at the University of Colorado in Aurora. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1996 and from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 2000. In 2006, Dr. Maroni completed his residency at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center prior to receiving fellowship training in Urologic Oncology at Indiana University. He returned to the University of Colorado as a faculty member in 2007. Dr. Maroni provides care to patients at the Tony Grampsas Urologic Cancer Care Clinic - Anschutz Medical Campus, where he specializes in robotic surgery for prostate or kidney cancer. As of 2020, he had performed over 1000 robotic prostate removals. He also performs minimally invasive HoLEP procedures for patients with enlarged prostates.
Dr. Maroni has published widely on the topics of prostate and testicular cancer. His specific clinical and academic interests include minimally invasive therapies for prostate cancer, robotic surgery, and surgery for metastatic testicular cancer. He is an investigator for numerous clinical trials about a wide range of subjects, from diagnostic tools to complementary medicines to immunotherapy for localized prostate cancer. Dr. Maroni’s other research interests center in quality of life outcomes for patients with prostate cancer and testicular cancer. His ultimate goal is that patients who survive cancer return to a better-than-normal state and use their cancer diagnoses to engage in healthy, life-enhancing behaviors.
