真鍋 治

Cardiovascular inflammation has recently emerged as a critical issue across various cardiovascular diseases. Various non-invasive imaging modalities are applied for assessing cardiovascular inflammation. Positron emission tomography (PET) using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is a valuable non-invasive imaging tool for identifying active cardiovascular inflammation. It is utilized in evaluating conditions, such as cardiac sarcoidosis, endocarditis, vasculitis, and unstable atherosclerosis. Furthermore, management of cardiovascular complications after aggressive cancer therapy has increasingly been required in cancer patients. FDG PET is considered a suitable approach not only for the assessment of tumor responses to cancer therapy, but also for early and accurate detection of cardiovascular complications. This review highlights the clinical value of FDG PET under appropriate patient preparation. The future perspectives of new molecular imaging tools for assessing active cardiovascular inflammation have been described.

Abstract Advances in cancer treatment have improved in patient survival rate. On the other hand, management of cardiovascular complications has been increasingly required in cancer patients. Thus, cardio-oncology has attracted the attention by both oncologists and cardiologists. Cardiovascular imaging has played a key role for non-invasive assessment of cardiovascular alterations complimentary to biomarkers and clinical assessment. Suitable imaging selection and interpretation may allow early diagnosis of cardiovascular injury with potential implications for therapeutic management and improved outcomes after cancer therapy. Echocardiography has been commonly used to evaluate cardiac dysfunction in cardio-oncology area. Cardiac CT is valuable for assessing structural abnormalities of the myocardium, coronary arteries, and aorta. Molecular imaging has an important role in the assessment of the pathophysiology and future treatment strategy of cardiovascular dysfunction. Cardiac MRI is valuable for characterization of myocardial tissue. PET and SPECT molecular imaging has potential roles for quantitative assessment of cardiovascular disorders. Particularly, FDG-PET is considered as an elegant approach for simultaneous assessment of tumor response to cancer therapy and early detection of possible cardiovascular involvement as well. This review describes the promising potential of these non-invasive cardiovascular imaging modalities in cardio-oncology.