Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2025 Sep;52(11):4268-4280.
doi: 10.1007/s00259-025-07348-2. Epub 2025 May 28.

Association of PET vascular activity score with Takayasu's arteritis angiographic progression

Sifan Wu #  1 , Bing Wu #  2 , Lingying Ma #  1 , Mengdi Li  1 , Xianting Sun  1 , Shuhui Zhang  1 , Hongcheng Shi  2 , Lindi Jiang  3   4
Affiliations
Observational Study

Association of PET vascular activity score with Takayasu's arteritis angiographic progression

Sifan Wu et al. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2025 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: Arterial wall Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake can reflect vascular inflammation in Takayasu's arteritis (TAK); however, its association with vascular prognosis remains unclear. This study assessed the predictive efficacy of the PET vascular activity score (PETVAS) for vascular prognosis and whether FDG uptake in specific arterial territories was associated with angiographic progression in TAK.

Methods: Patients with TAK from a prospective observational cohort who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT and serological tests at baseline were included. Magnetic Resonance Angiography and/or Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound were conducted at baseline and every six months during follow-up. The PETVAS was calculated. New/aggravated lesions were considered as angiographic progression.

Results: The imaging evaluation included 1,353 arterial territories from 123 patients. The baseline PETVAS was positively correlated with Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), serum IL-6, and Platelet. Angiographic progression was noted in 45 patients (36.6%) with 72 territories (5.3%) during 30 (18-72) months of follow-up. Of these, 19 (42.2%) had baseline PETVAS > 15, including 84.2% (16/19) naïve cases and 78.9% (15/19) with ESR ≥ 30 mm/h. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis adjusted for age and sex showed baseline PETVAS > 15 (HR 1.93; 95% CI, 1.01-3.68; p = 0.04) an independent predictor of angiographic progression.

Conclusion: Baseline PETVAS > 15 was an independent predictor of angiographic progression in TAK. Baseline FDG uptake in specific arterial territories did not correlate with vascular progression. Our study provides a feasible PET/CT-based predictive marker for vascular progression in TAK and underscores the importance of regular imaging follow-up to monitor disease outcomes.

Clinical trial number: Not applicable.

Keywords: 18F-FDG PET/CT; Angiographic progression; PET vascular activity score; Takayasu’s arteritis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: The study’s protocol was was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University [B2016-168(2)R]. Consent to participate: All patients provided written informed consent, and their privacy rights have been observed. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Mason JC. Takayasu arteritis–advances in diagnosis and management. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2010;6(7):406–15. - PubMed
    1. Kerr GS, Hallahan CW, Giordano J, Leavitt RY, Fauci AS, Rottem M, Hoffman GS. Takayasu Arteritis. Ann Intern Med. 1994;120(11):919–29.
    1. Schmidt J, Kermani T, Bacani A, Crowson C, Cooper L, Matteson E, et al. Diagnostic features, treatment, and outcomes of Takayasu arteritis in a US cohort of 126 patients. Mayo Clin Proc. 2013;88(8):822–30. - PubMed
    1. Comarmond C, Biard L, Lambert M, Mekinian A, Ferfar Y, Kahn JE, et al. Long-term outcomes and prognostic factors of complications in Takayasu arteritis: A multicenter study of 318 patients. Circulation. 2017;136(12):1114–22. - PubMed
    1. Goel R, Danda D, Joseph G, Ravindran R, Kumar S, Jayaseelan V, et al. Long-term outcome of 251 patients with Takayasu arteritis on combination immunosuppressant therapy: single centre experience from a large tertiary care teaching hospital in Southern India. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2018;47(5):718–26. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources