Abstract
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic fibrosing interstitial lung disease with a poor prognosis. (68)Ga-labeled FAP ligands exhibited highly promising results due to the crucial role of activated fibroblasts in fibrosis imaging of the lung. However, (18)F-labeled FAP ligands might provide qualitatively much higher imaging results with accompanying economic benefits due to large-scale production. Thus, we sought to investigate the potential of [(18)F]FAPI-74 prospectively in a small patient cohort. METHODS: Eight patients underwent both [(18)F]FAPI-74-PET/CT and HRCT scans and were then compared with a control group without any fibrosing pulmonary disease. The tracer uptake of fibrotic lung areas was analyzed in synopsis with radiological and clinical parameters. RESULTS: We observed a positive correlation between the fibrotic active volume, the Hounsfield scale, as well as the vital and diffusing capacity of the lung. CONCLUSION: The initial results confirm our assumption that [(18)F]FAPI-74 offers a viable non-invasive assessment method for pulmonary fibrotic changes in patients with IPF.