Key result
Statins reduce vascular 18F-FDG uptake more consistently than novel anti-inflammatory therapies in atherosclerosis.
Why the study?
Persistent vascular inflammation contributes to residual cardiovascular risk, prompting a systematic summary of treatment studies using [18F]FDG PET as an endpoint marker.
Do lipid-lowering and novel anti-inflammatory therapies reduce vascular inflammation as measured by [18F]FDG PET/CT in patients with or at risk for cardiovascular disease?
Systematic Review
Do lipid-lowering and novel anti-inflammatory therapies reduce vascular inflammation as measured by [18F]FDG PET/CT in patients with or at risk for cardiovascular disease?
[18F]FDG PET/CT serves as a useful surrogate endpoint marker in clinical trials, demonstrating that statins consistently reduce vascular inflammation whereas novel anti-inflammatory therapies have shown less consistent effects.
Inflammation plays a central role in the initiation, progression, and destabilization of atherosclerotic plaques. Persistent vascular inflammation despite therapeutic intervention may contribute substantially to residual cardiovascular risk. In this context, [ 18 F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron-emission-tomography ([ 18 F]FDG PET) imaging has emerged as a non-invasive imaging biomarker capable of visualizing and quantifying vascular inflammatory activity in vivo. Previously published studies showed that the use of [ 18 F]FDG PET may provide a non-invasive assessment of arterial inflammation. Accordingly, we aimed to systematically summarize treatment studies using [ 18 F]FDG PET as an endpoint marker. 18 studies were considered to be eligible for data extraction. Of these 22 articles, 10 investigated vascular inflammation reduction after trials with lipid-lowering therapies, the other 12 were considering the effect of novel anti-inflammatory drugs on vascular inflammation. This review provides an overview of the additional value that [ 18 F]FDG PET can provide as an endpoint marker in clinical intervention trials. Overall, statin therapies demonstrated a more consistent reduction in vascular [ 18 F]FDG uptake compared to novel anti-inflammatory therapies.
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Gijsen et al. (2026) conducted a systematic review in Atherosclerosis. Lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory drugs was evaluated on Reduction in vessel inflammation measured by [18F]FDG PET (SUV or TBR). Statin therapies demonstrated a more consistent reduction in vascular [18F]FDG uptake compared to novel anti-inflammatory therapies in patients with atherosclerosis.
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