Evaluation of PET/CT of Cephalic Arteries for the Diagnosis of Giant Cell Arteritis (Cervico-TEP et)

January 28, 2026 updated by: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common vasculitis in adults. The diagnosis of GCA is evoked by the association of clinical signs and biological anomalies (inflammatory syndrome) in patients over 50 years of age. On the other hand, starting a treatment implies being certain of the diagnosis which requires performing a temporal artery biopsy under local anesthesia. This examination is therefore an invasive procedure for patients whose sensitivity is not optimal. This is why imaging techniques (echo-Doppler or MRI of the temporal arteries) have been developed to look for signs of vasculitis without the need to perform a biopsy. However, these examinations lack sensitivity (=falsely concluding the absence of GCA) and specificity (=falsely concluding the presence of GCA). Recently, advances in imaging, and in particular positron emission tomography (PET), have made it possible to visualize the cephalic arteries, including the temporal artery.

The aim of this study is therefore to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of PET of the cephalic arteries for the diagnosis of GCA and to compare them with those of echo-Doppler and MRI of the temporal arteries.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

70

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • France
      • Dijon, France, 21000
        • Chu Dijon Bourgogne

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

outpatient

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Any patient for which the diagnosis of GCA is suspected and who underwent a cervical PET/CT

Exclusion Criteria:

  • previously diagnosed GCA, glycemia > 7 mmol/L, PET CT performed more than 72 h after introduction of glucocorticoids, age < 50 years

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Retrospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Patients
Other: Data collection
Data collection

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sensitivity / specificity of cervical PET/CT for the diagnosis of GCA
Time Frame: 6 months
diagnosis retained by the clinician without question after 6 months of follow-up and treatment for at least 6 consecutive months
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dijon

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 9, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 9, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

February 18, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 28, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ALBERINI CHU 2020

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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