PET Assessment of Disease Activity and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in ANCA-associated Vasculitis

Antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a severe autoimmune condition characterised by inflammation of small blood vessels. The condition causes multi-organ dysfunction and, if left untreated, is usually fatal. AAV is difficult to diagnose and the degree of disease activity is challenging to monitor. Current methods of disease activity assessment are either inaccurate (blood tests), invasive (biopsy), or non-specific (imaging). Additionally, though modern treatments are effective, patients with AAV remain at a substantially increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the long-term. There is therefore an urgent need for a tool which is able to reliably identify disease, and assess long-term CVD risk. Total-Body PET imaging with FDG, DOTATATE, and FAPI radiotracers may provide the answer. This study will recruit patients with active AAV, together with