SPOKANE, WA - Cancer Care Northwest (CCNW) is proud to be the only healthcare facility in Eastern Washington to currently offer Axumin PET/CT scans for patients with recurrent prostate cancer. Axumin® (fluciclovine F 18) is an advanced diagnostic imaging agent, or radiotracer, that is used in conjunction with a positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scan for men who have had prior treatment for prostate cancer and now have elevated Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) levels.
Previously only available in select western Washington and Oregon cities, CCNW is proud to bring this service to Eastern Washington and will be utilizing this new imaging technique on patients beginning in August 2021 at the CCNW South Clinic, located at 601 S Sherman Ave in Spokane, WA.
“This is a very exciting step forward in the prostate cancer treatment area. It allows us to better detect the specific locations where the cancer cells are hiding in the body, so that earlier targeted treatments can be performed, and systemic therapies can be customized for each patient” says CCNW Radiation Oncologist Dr. Christopher Lee.
Prostate cancer recurrence occurs in up to 40% of patients, which is the reason why these patients are monitored with periodic PSA blood tests. Approved by the FDA in 2016, Axumin is a Medicare-covered scan that can locate recurrent prostate cancer after surgery or radiation in patients with a PSA level less than 10. In years past, bone and body scans have been unable to determine the location and extent of the cancer until the PSA level is excessively elevated (10 – 30 or higher). The Axumin PET scan works by detecting the metabolic activity of the cancer itself, allowing clinicians to detect small local (prostate bed) and distant (lymph node, bone) metastatic lesions earlier than ever before when PSA levels are less than 10. Full Axumin prescribing information is available at www.axumin.com. Access the Axumin Patient Brochure here.
Axumin is just one of the advanced imaging services available at Cancer Care Northwest. To read more about CCNW’s imaging capabilities, please visit: www.cancercarenorthwest.com/pet-ct.
