FDA-approved PET imaging agent for prostate cancer now available at Mountainside Medical Center

Photo Courtesy of Mountainside Medical Center
The first PET imaging scan using the prostate-specific antigen imaging agent Illucix was performed at Mountainside Medical Center on Wednesday, July 30.

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men, with an estimated 268,490 new cases projected for 2022. In most cases, conventional screening does not accurately identify the location and extent of the cancer, until now. Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center, located in Glen Ridge, is among the first hospitals in northern New Jersey now offering men with prostate cancer targeted positron emission tomography imaging with Illucix, a prostate-specific membrane antigen imaging agent.

“Prostate cancer is difficult to treat for a number of different reasons, including the fact that it is difficult to detect,” said Dr. James Orsini Jr., hematology oncologist at Mountainside Medical Center. “This new imaging allows us to detect prostate cancer lesions that would have otherwise been undetectable and offer patients more targeted treatment options and improve patient outcomes.”

This product was approved by the FDA in December 2021. 

“Offering PSMA-PET imaging at our community hospital improves access to the latest in imaging services to men with prostate cancer,” hospital CEO Tim O’Brien said. “This addition demonstrates our commitment to provide our local community with outstanding health care.”