NCT02771483

Giant Cell Arteritis and PET Scan (GAPS) Study

Completed Last updated 12 March 2020

What this trial tests

trial in Giant Cell Arteritis in 64 participants. Completed in 28 January 2020.

Timeline

15 May 2016

Primary endpoint
28 January 2020

28 January 2020

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Royal North Shore Hospital
Status	Completed
Study type	OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment	64
Start date	15 May 2016
Primary completion	28 January 2020
Estimated completion	28 January 2020
Sites	1 location across Australia

Conditions studied

• Giant Cell Arteritis — all drugs for Giant Cell Arteritis →

Sponsor

Royal North Shore Hospital

Who can join

50 and older, any sex, with Giant Cell Arteritis. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a medium to large vessel vasculitis with a predilection for the superficial cranial and intrathoracic arteries. Diagnosing the condition and predicting which patients will develop large vessel complications remains a challenge. There are limitations with temporal artery biopsy, magnetic resonance angiography and ultrasound of temporal arteries and American College of Rheumatology classification criteria.

Positron emission tomography (PET) has been shown to be a useful modality in detecting inflammation in large intra-thoracic vessels but previously has not been able to accurately detect FDG uptake in the superficial cranial arteries due to poor spatial resolution. Newer scanners can perform finer cuts of the head and can detect uptake in these arteries.

This study has three main components:

1. Cross sectional study assessing the accuracy of PET uptake in the superficial cranial and intrathoracic arteries of suspected GCA patients for the diagnosis of GCA
2. Cohort study assessing the prognostic implication of FDG aortic uptake on aortic diameter at 24 months
3. Cohort study assessing the Th1 and Th17 cytokine profile in patients with and without FDG PET uptake at 0, 6 and 24 months

Publications & conference data

3 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Current developments in the diagnosis and treatment of giant cell arteritis.
   Szekeres D, Al Othman B. · · 2022 · cited 5× · PMID 36582285 · DOI 10.3389/fmed.2022.1066503
2. POSTER PRESENTATIONS
   · 2018 · cited 1×
3. POSTER PRESENTATIONS
   · 2018