Key result
FAP-specific PET demonstrated promising utility in detecting and characterizing non-malignant conditions, particularly in differentiating inflammatory from fibrotic lesions in IgG4-related disease.
Why the study?
Most existing literature on FAP-specific PET has focused on cancer, but its use in non-cancerous conditions warranted a summary of available clinical evidence.
Does FAP-specific PET imaging detect and characterize non-malignant lesions in patients with non-cancerous diseases?
Systematic Review (n=303)
Does FAP-specific PET imaging detect and characterize non-malignant lesions in patients with non-cancerous diseases?
FAP-specific PET shows promising potential for imaging non-malignant conditions such as IgG4-related disease and cardiovascular disease, warranting further prospective research.
Purpose Small molecules targeting fibroblast activation protein (FAP) have emerged as a new group of tracers for positron emission tomography (PET) in 2018. While most of the existing literature has been focussed on the application of FAP-specific PET in various kinds of cancers, some researchers have, both intentionally or unintentionally, used FAP-specific PET in patients with non-cancerous diseases. The purpose of this systematic review is therefore to summarize the available evidence of FAP-specific PET for non-malignant indications. Methods The MEDLINE database was searched for studies presenting the clinical use of FAP-specific PET, the records were screened according to PRISMA guidelines and articles containing patients suffering from non-malignant diseases were included. Results Sixteen studies with 303 patients were included. FAP-specific PET has been used in cardiac imaging, IgG4-related disease, benign tumors as well as various kinds of inflammation. Two prospective studies on FAP-specific PET for IgG4-related disease show its potential to differentiate inflammatory from fibrotic lesions, which could be used to determine the management of these patients. Conclusion While publications on FAP-specific PET for non-malignant indications are mostly limited to case reports and incidental findings, the first retrospective and prospective studies present promising results for IgG4-related as well as cardiovascular disease that warrant further research. Several currently recruiting trials will add to the body evidence in the next few years.
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Windisch et al. (2021) conducted a systematic review in Non-malignant indications (e.g., cardiovascular disease, IgG4-related disease, inflammation) (n=303). FAP-specific PET was evaluated on Clinical findings of FAP-specific PET in non-malignant indications. FAP-specific PET demonstrated promising utility in detecting and characterizing non-malignant conditions, particularly in differentiating inflammatory from fibrotic lesions in IgG4-related disease.
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