Mayo Clinic's approach
Mayo Clinic doctors have extensive experience with PSMA PET scans. The expert radiologists at Mayo Clinic have used this and other innovative tests to detect prostate cancer for many years.
Your Mayo Clinic care team
For those living with advanced prostate cancer, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center offers compassionate and personalized care. Cancer specialists work in teams with doctors from other specialties to provide you with exactly the care you need.
If you're considering a PSMA PET scan, your care team might include:
Experience that helps you get the right diagnosis
Mayo Clinic radiologists are experienced in using PSMA PET scans and other imaging tests to accurately detect and monitor prostate cancer.
- Expertise in nuclear imaging. Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota have cyclotrons, PET radiochemistry laboratories and nuclear radiopharmacies, all of which are needed to properly handle and produce the tracers for PET imaging and other nuclear imaging tests. Each campus also has state-of-the-art scanners, including PET-CT, PET-MRI and SPECT-CT.
- Experience interpreting PET scans. Mayo Clinic radiologists read and interpret thousands of PET scans each year. The radiologists who read PSMA PET scans use their experience with this imaging test to help them distinguish cancer from something that isn't cancer. Having an experienced radiologist on your team helps give you the most accurate diagnosis.
- A history of innovation in prostate cancer imaging. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, was the first medical center in the United States to receive approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to prepare and administer the imaging agent used in a choline C-11 PET scan. This PET scan tracer was the first one developed specifically for imaging prostate cancer.
Access to the latest prostate cancer treatments
If a PSMA PET scan detects metastatic prostate cancer, there are many treatment options. A caring team of experts at Mayo Clinic can explain your options and help you pick the treatment that's best for you.
- Radiopharmaceuticals and other advanced treatments. Mayo Clinic doctors offer the latest prostate cancer treatments, such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy. They also offer radiopharmaceuticals and nuclear medicine therapy, including lutetium Lu-177 vipivotide tetraxetan, which is known by the brand name Pluvicto.
- Clinical trials studying the latest treatments. Mayo Clinic offers many clinical trials that give you a chance to try new treatments or new ways of using existing treatments.
Expertise and rankings
Mayo Clinic doctors are widely respected for their expertise in using advanced imaging tests, such as the PSMA PET scan for prostate cancer. When you seek care at Mayo Clinic, you can expect:
- Personalized care. At Mayo Clinic, an expert team of radiologists, urologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and other specialists, if needed, work together to give you exactly the care you need. Mayo Clinic specialists have extensive experience caring for people with prostate cancer.
- Experience you can trust. Mayo Clinic doctors are respected for their experience in caring for people with prostate cancer and for using PET scans to diagnose cancer and other conditions. Each year, more than 23,000 people with prostate cancer receive care at Mayo Clinic. Thousands of PET scans are done at Mayo Clinic facilities every year.
- A full range of treatment options. If you're found to have metastatic prostate cancer, you have many treatment options. Mayo Clinic offers all prostate cancer treatments, including the latest treatments. Options may include hormone therapy, radiopharmaceutical treatments, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, surgery, cryotherapy and chemotherapy.
- Center of excellence for radiopharmaceutical treatments. The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging has designated Mayo Clinic as a Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Center of Excellence. This honor extends to the Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.
- Nationally recognized expertise. Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets the strict standards for a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. These standards recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is ranked as the top hospital in Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, is ranked as the top hospital in Arizona, and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, is ranked the top hospital in Florida.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:
Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.