Myocardial uptake of 68Ga-DOTATATE: correlation with cardiac disease and risk factors

Background Myocardial uptake on 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT is often observed and its clinical relevance is poorly understood. Purpose To detect any correlation between myocardial uptake of 68Ga-DOTATATE and presence of cardiac disease or risk factors. Material and Methods In this institutional review board-approved retrospective study, we reviewed 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT scans in our institution between 1 May 2018 and 30 September 2018. A semi-quantitative score (MUS) for myocardial uptake of 68Ga-DOTATATE was developed by measuring mean standardized uptake value (SUV) in five myocardial regions, corrected by blood pool activity, and MUS was validated between two readers. We investigated the relationship between MUS and presence of cardiac disease or risk factors, including Framingham score and coronary calcification. Results A total of 145 scans were included (79 women; mean age = 56.9 ± 13.7 years). Inter-reader agreement was excellent with intraclass correlation coefficient (r) = 0.964 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.903–0.987; P