Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42048552›Full record

ArticleEuropean heart journal. Cardiovascular Imaging2026

Carotid plaque inflammation and calcification on somatostatin receptor PET/CT imaging predict stroke and major adverse cardiovascular events.

Xiaoliang Shao, Carola Maria Bregenzer, Jiahui Wang, Yizhou Chen, Yuetao Wang, Luisa Maria Knappe, Axel Rominger, Kuangyu Shi, Federico Caobelli

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In one paragraph

Article in European heart journal. Cardiovascular Imaging, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Xiaoliang ShaoDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 18, Bern 3010, Switzerland.
Carola Maria BregenzerDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 18, Bern 3010, Switzerland.
Jiahui WangDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 18, Bern 3010, Switzerland.
Yizhou ChenDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 18, Bern 3010, Switzerland.
Yuetao WangDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 185 Juqian Street, Tianning District, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213003, China.
Luisa Maria KnappeDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 18, Bern 3010, Switzerland.
Axel RomingerDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 18, Bern 3010, Switzerland.
Kuangyu ShiDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 18, Bern 3010, Switzerland.
Federico CaobelliDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 18, Bern 3010, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-2472-775X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeCarotid atherosclerosis is a risk factor for stroke and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and is characterized by inflammation and calcification at different stages. Simultaneous assessment of both features may improve risk stratification. We therefore evaluated whether combined assessment of carotid plaque inflammation and calcification on [68Ga]DOTA-TOC PET/CT predicts stroke and MACE in a real-world oncologic population. METHODS AND

resultsWe retrospectively included patients who underwent [68Ga]DOTA-TOC PET/CT for suspected or confirmed neuroendocrine tumours. Carotid plaques were assessed visually and semiquantitatively on PET/CT, and patients were categorized into four groups according to the patient-level presence of carotid artery calcification and/or focal [68Ga]DOTA-TOC uptake. Median follow-up was 55 months (IQR 42-72). Stroke and MACE, defined as myocardial infarction, hospitalization for myocardial ischaemia, coronary revascularization, and all-cause death, were recorded. A total of 353 patients were evaluated. Carotid artery calcification was present in 123/353 (34.8%) patients, with a median calcification volume of 77.7 cm3 (IQR 27.9-169.8). Forty-six patients (13.0%) showed 67 foci of [68Ga]DOTA-TOC uptake, with median SUVmax 1.68 (IQR 1.55-1.93) and median TBR 2.14 (IQR 1.65-2.79). Patients with both calcified and inflamed carotid plaques had the highest rates of stroke (15.2%) and MACE (12.1%) vs. all other groups (P < 0.05). In multivariable Cox analysis, this combined patient-level phenotype remained independently associated with stroke and MACE and remained significant in competing-risk analyses.

conclusion[68Ga]DOTA-TOC PET/CT enables simultaneous assessment of macrophage-related carotid plaque inflammation and calcification and identifies a subgroup at particularly high risk of stroke and MACE.

Indexed as

Carotid Artery DiseasesPlaque, AtheroscleroticPositron Emission Tomography Computed TomographyReceptors, SomatostatinStrokeAgedCohort StudiesFemaleHumansInflammationMaleMiddle AgedPredictive Value of TestsRadiopharmaceuticalsRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentRadiopharmaceuticalsReceptors, Somatostatin[68Ga]DOTA-TOCcarotid plaquescerebrovascular eventsculprit plaquessomatostatin receptor imaging

Identifiers

PMID42048552
PMCPMC13423501

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.