Atorvastatin lowers 68 Ga-DOTATATE uptake in coronary arteries, bone marrow and spleen in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Inflammation is a core component of residual cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes. With new anti-inflammatory therapeutics entering the field, accurate markers to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing cardiovascular disease are paramount. Gallium-68-labelled DOTATATE (68 Ga-DOTATATE) has recently been proposed as a more specific marker of arterial wall inflammation than 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18 F-FDG). This study set out to investigate whether 68 Ga-DOTATATE uptake is amenable to therapeutic intervention in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS: Individuals aged >50 years with type 2 diabetes underwent 68 Ga-DOTATATE positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) at baseline and after 3 months treatment with atorvastatin 40 mg once daily. Primary outcome was the difference in coronary 68 Ga-DOTATATE uptake, expressed as target-to-background ratio (TBR). The secondary outcome was difference in bone marrow and splenic uptake, expressed as the standardised uptake value (SUV).

RESULTS: Twenty-two individuals with type 2 diabetes (mean age 63.2±6.4 years, 82% male, LDL-cholesterol 3.42±0.81 mmol/l, HbA1c 55±12 mmol/mol [7.2%±3.2%]) completed both 68 Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT scans. The maximum TBR was -31% (95% CI -50, -12) lower in the coronary arteries, and bone marrow and splenic 68 Ga-DOTATATE uptake was also significantly lower post statin treatment, with a mean percentage reduction of -15% (95% CI -27, -4) and -17% (95% CI -32, -2), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: 68 Ga-DOTATATE uptake across the cardio-haematopoietic axis was lower after statin therapy in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, 68 Ga-DOTATATE is promising as a metric for vascular and haematopoietic inflammation in intervention studies using anti-inflammatory therapeutics in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05730634.