RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 In Vivo Imaging of Macrophage Activity in the Coronary Arteries Using 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT: Correlation with Coronary Calcium Burden and Risk Factors JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO J Nucl Med FD Society of Nuclear Medicine SP 193 OP 197 DO 10.2967/jnumed.109.070672 VO 51 IS 2 A1 Rominger, Axel A1 Saam, Tobias A1 Vogl, Eva A1 Übleis, Christopher A1 la Fougère, Christian A1 Förster, Stefan A1 Haug, Alexander A1 Cumming, Paul A1 Reiser, Maximilian F. A1 Nikolaou, Konstantin A1 Bartenstein, Peter A1 Hacker, Marcus YR 2010 UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/51/2/193.abstract AB We measured the uptake of the somatostatin receptor ligand 68Ga-[1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N′,N″,N′″-tetraacetic acid]-d-Phe1,Tyr3-octreotate (DOTATATE) in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) in association with calcified plaques (CPs) and cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: Seventy consecutive tumor patients were examined by whole-body 68Ga-DOTATATE contrast-enhanced PET/CT. Blood-pool–corrected standardized uptake value (target-to-background ratio) was measured in the LAD, and CT images were used to detect CP. Cardiovascular risk factors and history of prior cardiovascular events were recorded. Results: 68Ga-DOTATATE uptake was detectable in the LAD of all patients. Target-to-background ratio in the LAD correlated significantly with the presence of CP (R = 0.34; P < 0.01), prior vascular events (R = 0.26; P < 0.05), and male sex (R = 0.29; P < 0.05), whereas CP correlated with these parameters but also with age (R = 0.34; P < 0.01) and hypertension (R = 0.25; P < 0.05). Conclusion: In a series of oncologic patients, those with prior cardiovascular events and calcified atherosclerotic plaques showed significantly increased 68Ga-DOTATATE uptake in the LAD, suggesting a potential role of this tracer for plaque imaging in the coronary arteries.