Vasculitis & polymyalgia rheumatica
Distinct clinical outcomes of positron emission tomography/computed tomography-based subtypes in treatment-naïve Takayasu arteritis
Authors' conclusion
PET/CT-based classification suggested three distinct TAK subtypes with different clinical outcomes. The diffuse type was significantly associated with relapse, whereas the thoracic type caused vascular complications.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with treatment-naïve TAK who underwent PET/CT before treatment initiation (90% women; median age at diagnosis 48 years)median follow-up 4.8 years
- Participants
- 30 patients
- Exposure
- PET/CT-based clusters: thoracic vs diffuse vs localized
- Outcome
- Clinical outcomes, including relapse and large-vessel complications, by PET/CT-based cluster
Methodological detailshierarchical clustering, survival analyses
- Hierarchical clustering
- Survival analyses
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Relapse rate
Diffuse
24.1
/100 person-years
- Diffuse type showed the highest relapse rate
- P = 0.04
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
- Vascular complications — Thoracic
- 13.9 /100 person-years
- Vascular complications — Thoracic type tended to be associated with more vascular complications
- p = 0.12
Numano classification
- Did not always correspond to PET/CT-based clusters or predict clinical outcomes
PET Vascular Activity Score ≥ 7
- Associated with relapse but not with vascular complications
Longitudinal PET/CT activity
- PET/CT activity persisted despite clinical inactivity in some cases
Original publication
Distinct clinical outcomes of positron emission tomography/computed tomography-based subtypes in treatment-naïve Takayasu arteritis. Scand J Rheumatol. Published 3 July 2026. doi:10.
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