The RUPTURE study, version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The ResidUal inflammation imaging to PredicT cardiovascUlar disease progression and treatment REsponse (RUPTURE) study
IRAS ID
251991
Contact name
Jason Tarkin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Every 3 minutes, a person in the UK suffers a heart attack. While doctors are good at diagnosing and treating these potentially life-threatening events once they have occurred, we are less able to predict which individuals with heart disease are most at risk of future sudden events. In fact, 1 in 5 individuals treated for a heart attack will have a recurrent event within 2 years.
We know that high-levels of inflammation occur in dangerous cholesterol deposits within the arteries that trigger heart attacks and strokes. However, an accurate way to both identify inflammation and monitor cardiovascular disease activity in the clinic is lacking. While FDG imaging using a PET scanner can detect vascular inflammation, this method is not specific for inflammation and does not reliably provide clear images of the heart arteries.
Our research at the University of Cambridge identified a new way of detecting these hot-spots of vascular inflammation, by re-purposing another PET tracer used in cancer imaging, called DOTATATE. This research demonstrated that DOTATATE, which acts by identifying inflammatory cells (macrophages) bearing a cell marker (somatostatin receptor-2 (SST2)), could provide a more specific indicator of inflammation, which could be more easily detected in the heart arteries, than FDG.
In three parallel studies, we will now examine whether SST2 PET imaging can be used: 1) to study the anti-inflammatory effects of potent cholesterol-lowering drugs; 2) to predict people who are at high-risk of recurrent heart attacks because of persistent inflammation causing disease progression; and 3) to help to diagnose another rare, but serious vascular inflammatory disease, called vasculitis.
Ultimately, this research will help us to learn how to better treat cardiovascular diseases and prevent heart attacks before they occur.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EE/0043
Date of REC Opinion
1 Apr 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion