ProsTIC Nurse Consultant Elizabeth Medhurst has presented research she led at the 52nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine earlier this month.

"The study I presented highlighted our experience of treating men with metastatic castrate resistance prostate cancer with Lutetium-177 PSMA-I&T," Ms Medhurst says.

Presenting results from the first 46 patients treated at Peter Mac, Ms Medhurst showed the treatment produced comparable results to patients treated with the more commonly used Lutetium-177 PSMA-617.

Lutetium-177-PSMA-I&T binds to the prostate-specific membrane-antigen or PSMA that is present on most prostate cancer cells, and delivers radiation to precisely kill the cancer cells without harming surrounding tissue.

It is similar to Lutetium-177 PSMA 617 but has a slightly different binding agent, and limited prospective data has been collected so far to support its use.

"This research provides support that Lutetium-177 PSMA-I&T is an effective treatment for men with metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer," Ms Medhurst says.

It is less common for nurse-led research to be presented at ANZSNM's annual meeting, which is generally filled with oral presentations by doctors.

"I was very honoured and excited to have an opportunity to speak at this conference," Ms Medhurst says.

"I hope this opens a space for more nurses to present academic research at medical conferences – we have plenty to say and contribute to research which leads to improved outcomes for our patients."

This is work that simply doesn't happen without a multidisciplinary team like the one she works in, Ms Medhurst says.

"I'm incredibility grateful for the support and guidance to produce nurse-led research within the nuclear medicine and genitourinary departments."