Association between vascular FDG uptake during follow-up and the development of thoracic aortic aneurysms in giant cell arteritis.

Background

A positive PET scan at diagnosis was associated with a greater yearly increase in ascending and descending aortic diameter and thoracic aortic volume in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA). Radiologic and histopathologic vascular abnormalities persist in a subset of treated patients despite clinical remission. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between vascular FDG uptake during follow-up and the development of thoracic aortic aneurysms.

Methods

We recently performed a prospective cohort study of 106 GCA patients, who underwent FDG PET and CT imaging at diagnosis and CT imaging yearly for a maximum of 10 years. In this

Results

Eighty-eight repeat PET scans were performed in 52 out of 106 GCA patients, who were included in the original prospective cohort. Fifty-five (63%) PET scans were done at the time of a relapse and 33 (38%) were done while in remission. Nine out of ten patients with an incident thoracic aortic aneurysm had both a positive PET scan at diagnosis and during follow-up.

Conclusion

In addition to the intensity and extent of the initial vascular inflammation, ongoing aortic inflammation may contribute to the development of thoracic aortic aneurysms in GCA. However, this hypothesis should be confirmed in a large prospective trial with repeat PET scans at predefined time points during follow-up.

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2024 Blockmans, Moreel, Betrains, Vanderschueren, Coudyzer, Boeckxstaens and Van Laere.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.