Is there a diagnostic benefit of late-phase abdomino-pelvic PET/CT after urination as part of whole-body Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT for restaging patients with biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy?

Background: To assess the diagnostic value of an additional late-phase PET/CT scan after urination as part of  Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT for the restaging of patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer (BCR).

Methods: This retrospective trial included patients with BCR following radical prostatectomy, who underwent standard whole-body early-phase PET/CT performed 105 ± 45 min and an additional late-phase PET/CT performed 159 ± 13 min after injection of  Ga-PSMA-11. Late-phase PET/CT covered a body volume from below the liver to the upper thighs and was conducted after patients had used the bathroom to empty their urinary bladder.

Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor - A Favorable Marker in Inflammatory Diseases?

Background: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was firstly described in the 1960s as a pleiotropic cytokine affecting a variety of immune cells. Different physiological functions mainly involving inflammatory reactions such as chemokine-like function and regulating systemic stress responses have been reported.

Objective: In several clinical studies the use of MIF as a biomarker has been investigated promising support for diseases with an inflammatory aspect such as sepsis, systemic infections and autoimmune diseases.