PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Stephanie Reichelt
AU  - Imke Schatka
AU  - Tim Wollenweber
AU  - Frank Bengel
TI  - Pathophysiologic correlates of vascular and myocardial somatostatin receptor expression detected by 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT
DP  - 2014 May 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 294--294
VI  - 55
IP  - supplement 1
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/55/supplement_1/294.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/55/supplement_1/294.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2014 May 01; 55
AB  - 294 Objectives Vascular and cardiac uptake of the somatostatin receptor (SSTR) ligand 68Ga-DOTATATE may be observed in patients undergoing PET/CT for workup of neuroendocrine tumors. SSTR subtype 2 is expressed on activated macrophages and in proliferating endothelium. Little is known about the clinical importance. Thus we sought to correlate the vessel wall uptake with both cardiac uptake and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF). Methods 32 oncologic pts (60±13a, 17m, 15f) undergoing 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT were retrospectively analysed. Maximum uptake was measured in basal, midventricular and apical sections of lateral, anterior, septal and inferior myocardium. Mean cardiac uptake (MCU) was calculated. Overall vessel uptake (OVU) was determined as the sum of target-to-background-ratios in 3 arterial segments (aortic arch, ascending and descending aorta). CVRF were identified via telephone interview and patient records. Results OVU correlated significantly with body mass index (BMI) (r=0.46, P=0.009), number of calcified plaques (CP) (r=0.49, P=0.005). OVU was higher in males (P=0.008), in pts with hypercholesterolemia (P=0.001) and previous major adverse cardiovascular events (P=0.01). Cardiac uptake was slightly inhomogeneous with a tendency towards higher uptake in midventricular and basal sections, and in inferior wall. MCU correlated significantly with the number of CP (r=0.36, P=0.04) and BMI (r=0.46, P=0.008). MCU and OVU, however, did not correlate significantly (r=0.20, P=0.27). Conclusions 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT identifies SSTR expression in vessel wall and myocardium, which correlates with CVRF and may reflect inflammatory activity. Whole-body imaging identifies biologic differences between peripheral and myocardial vascular beads. Results may serve as a foundation for further prospective studies of cardiovascular SSTR expression.