Diagnosis of early biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy in patients with prostate cancer: State of the art

International audience; Biochemical recurrence after primary treatment in prostate cancer is not uncommon. A rising serum prostate-specific antigen level represents a first sign of disease relapse. At this time of low disease burden, imaging and particularly magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) are essential to determine the localization of the recurrence, which may be local, in lymph nodes, and/or metastatic. Imaging results allow best determine modalities of salvage treatment, which can be local by using radiotherapy or other focal treatments or systemic using hormonotherapy. Current evidence suggests that multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging, PET/CT with prostate specific membrane antigen and lympho-magnetic resonance imaging are effective and complementary to detect local recurrences and distant metastases.