Fluorine-18 sodium fluoride (18F-NaF) uptake in penile vessels may be associated with erectile dysfunction (ED) or likelihood of future ED in prostate cancer patients, according to research published March 4 in Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which will be presented during ACC.19 in New Orleans, LA.

Takehiro Nakahara, MD, PhD, et al., evaluated NaF PET-CT bone scans of 437 prostate cancer patients. Patients were categorized by "prevalent ED" (diagnosed before the scan date), "incident ED" (no ED at first scan but developed during one-year follow-up), or "no ED." Results showed SUVmax of penile vessels in patients with prevalent ED or incident ED was significantly higher compared with those with no ED. Specifically, researchers noted, after adjustment for other risk factors, "the odds of Prevalent or Incident ED was 23.5 for 0.5-unit increment in SUVmax with ROC area of 0.91 for ED."

Looking to the future, the researchers note their findings underscore the need to test the importance of 18F-NaF uptake in non-cancer subjects, especially in relation to age, comorbidities and therapeutic strategies.

In a related editorial comment, Ahmed Tawakol, MD; Michael T. Osborne, MD, FACC; and Francis J. McGovern, MD, say this new research "represents an initial innovative use of 18F-NaF imaging to evaluate penile artery atherosclerosis and shows that penile arterial 18F-NaF uptake may predict the subsequent development of ED. Should these findings be confirmed in prospective studies, then penile 18F-NaF uptake could be evaluated routinely in clinically obtained 18F-NaF scans, providing an opportunity to initiate interventions aimed at forestalling the development of ED."

Clinical Topics: Noninvasive Imaging, Nuclear Imaging

Keywords: ACC19, ACC Annual Scientific Session, Sodium Fluoride, Prospective Studies, Erectile Dysfunction, Fluorine, Radionuclide Imaging, Arteries, Atherosclerosis, Comorbidity, Prostatic Neoplasms

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