title: Position paper of the Cardiovascular Committee of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) on PET imaging of atherosclerosis.
abstract: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death not only in Europe but also in the rest of the World. Preventive measures, however, often fail and cardiovascular disease may manifest as an acute coronary syndrome, stroke or even sudden death after years of silent progression. Thus, there is a considerable need for innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to improve the quality of care and limit the burden of cardiovascular diseases. During the past 10 years, several retrospective and prospective clinical studies have been published using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) to quantify inflammation in atherosclerotic plaques. However, the current variety of imaging protocols used for vascular (arterial) imaging with FDG PET considerably limits the ability to compare results between studies and to build large multicentre imaging registries. Based on the existing literature and the experience of the Members of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) Cardiovascular Committee, the objective of this position paper was to propose optimized and standardized protocols for imaging and interpretation of PET scans in atherosclerosis. These recommendations do not, however, replace the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make appropriate decisions in the circumstances of the individual study protocols used and the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and, where appropriate and necessary, the patient's guardian or carer. These recommendations suffer from the absence of conclusive evidence on many of the recommendations. Therefore, they are not intended and should not be used as "strict guidelines" but should, as already mentioned, provide a basis for standardized clinical atherosclerosis PET imaging protocols, which are subject to further and continuing evaluation and improvement. However, this EANM position paper might indeed be a first step towards "official" guidelines on atherosclerosis imaging with PET.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands. jan.bucerius@mumc.nl.|Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands. jan.bucerius@mumc.nl.|Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany. jan.bucerius@mumc.nl.|Department of Nuclear Medicine and Cardiovascular Research Institute (CARIM), Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+), P. Debyelaan 25, 6229, HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands. jan.bucerius@mumc.nl.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bucerius
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bichat University Hospital, Inserm 1148, DHU FIRE, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France.|Department of Nuclear Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hyafil
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hein J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Verberne
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.|Department of Biomedical Photonic Imaging, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Riemer H J A
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Slart
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Institute of Radiology, Heart and Diabetes Center NRW, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lindner
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sciagra
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, CHU Côte de Nacre, Normandie Université, Caen, France.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Agostini
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Übleis
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gimelli
authors.affiliation: Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided therapy, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hacker
mesh_terms: D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals
keywords: Atherosclerosis; Position paper; Positron emission tomography