PSMAforum – About PSMAforum

The PSMA forum NL was established in 2015 to consolidate knowledge and experience related to the application of PSMA. The PSMA forum NL is a multidisciplinary collaboration between specialists and researchers from Dutch medical centers with the aim of deploying PSMA diagnostics and therapy as effectively and efficiently as possible. There are now over 40 medical specialists affiliated with the PSMA forum NL. We are a multidisciplinary platform in which it is expressly intended that in addition to nuclear medicine specialists, specialists from other disciplines will also join such as urologists, oncologists and radiotherapists.

Despite several years of experience with the PSMA scan, it is still unclear how the PSMA scan can be put in practice most efficiently. The research has only limited guidelines in place. In addition, several PSMA tracers are available with minimally different properties. The primary goal of PSMA forum NL is to ensure that all patients in the Netherlands receive a PSMA PET scan, with comparable high quality and harmonized parameters for the analysis of the images.

In order to bring the execution of the examinations and interpretation of the images in line with international standards as much as possible, joint examination and assessment protocols are drawn up, we discuss difficult scans and a clinical / educational group has been formed. A research group is setting up clinical studies in the Netherlands and answering questions about optimal use of PSMA diagnostics and therapy. There is also cooperation in the field of grant applications for studies. In addition, a database is filled with scans obtained with PSMA tracers. This database can serve as a resource for education or multicenter research, and for developing artificial intelligence tools to help assess the scans.

When taking over the presidency from Prof. dr. J. Fred Verzijlbergen by colleague Dr. Daniela Oprea – Lower in March 2019, a number of objectives have been formulated:

• multidisciplinary national platform
• make decisions about tracers, indications for application
• support harmonization protocols
• discuss / propose guidelines
• use the collected data in the imPRINT database
• joint new publications
• applying for grants
• initiate new scientific studies
• website with information about PSMA
• discuss complicated case histories, instructive images
• organize educational meetings

The strength of the company lies in the fact that almost all departments in the Netherlands that produce PSMA scans are connected and that colleagues from urology, medical oncology and radiotherapy make an important contribution to all aspects of the above objectives.

We also seek cooperation with our partners, especially in the field of education and research.

Brainstorm meeting 24 July board PSMA forum NL and guests Dr. Franchette van den Berkmortel, medical oncologist, Zuyderland hospital and Dr. Niven Mehra, internist-oncologist ass. professor, Radboudumc.