A Clinical Trial to Investigate 18F-AzaFol in the Diagnosis of Large Vessel Vasculitis

NCT ID: NCT06335888

Last Updated: 2025-02-13

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

PHASE2

Total Enrollment

70 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-02-03

Study Completion Date

2029-05-31

Brief Summary

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The goal of this open-label clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy of AzaFol-PET/CT in the diagnosis of GCA (giant cell arteritis), to compare AzaFol- with 2-\[18F\]FDG-PET/CT, and to assess the safety and tolerability of AzaFol in subjects with suspicion of GCA.

Participants will undergo AzaFol-PET/CT imaging at a single timepoint.

Detailed Description

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Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common systemic vasculitis in the elderly population. 2-\[18F\]Fluor-2-desoxy-D-glucose (2-\[18F\]FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/ computed tomography (CT) is performed to diagnose GCA (standard of care, SOC) but unable to reliably distinguish atherosclerosis from vasculitis. Activated macrophages express folate receptor (FR)-β and are enriched in inflamed vascular tissue in GCA. 3'-Aza-2'-\[18F\]Fluoro-Folic Acid (AzaFol) is a nuclear tracer targeting FRβ. The investigators hypothesize that AzaFol is a specific and reliable tracer to visualize activated macrophages in GCA and therefore might improve the discrimination of vasculitic and atherosclerotic lesions as compared to 2-\[18F\]FDG-PET/CT.

Conditions

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Giant Cell Arteritis

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

Cross-over, randomized, open label, single-centre
Primary Study Purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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AzaFol first, FDG second

AzaFol PET/CT imaging followed by FDG PET/CT imaging (standard of care)

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

AzaFol

Intervention Type DRUG

AzaFol-PET/CT imaging

FDG

Intervention Type DRUG

FDG-PET/CT imaging

FDG first, AzaFol second

FDG PET/CT imaging (standard of care) imaging followed by AzaFol PET/CT

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

AzaFol

Intervention Type DRUG

AzaFol-PET/CT imaging

FDG

Intervention Type DRUG

FDG-PET/CT imaging

Interventions

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AzaFol

AzaFol-PET/CT imaging

Intervention Type DRUG

FDG

FDG-PET/CT imaging

Intervention Type DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Individuals ≥ 50 years with clinical suspicion of GCA
* Women of childbearing potential must not have a positive serum pregnancy test at the Screening Visit
* Subjects must be able to understand and adhere to all protocol requirements and must voluntarily sign and date an informed consent, approved by an independent ethics committee (IEC)/institutional review board (IRB), prior to the initiation of any screening or study-specific procedures.
* Are willing and able to comply with procedures required in this protocol.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Folate deficiency
2. Female subjects who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering becoming pregnant during the study or within 30 days after the last dose of study drug
3. Concomitant treatment with medications that lead to a significant impairment of folic acid levels (methotrexate, pemetrexed, raltitrexed)
4. Concomitant glucose-containing infusion or parental nutrition within 6 hours prior to 2-\[18F\]FDG tracer application
5. Glucose level \> 10 mmol/l at the timepoint of 2-\[18F\]FDG PET/CT
6. Unable to remain in the PET/CT for the duration of the examination
7. Unable to lie still for the duration of the examination (45 min)
8. Unable not to eat or drink (except water) for 6 hours prior to 2-\[18F\]FDG tracer application
9. Prior PET-imaging within 60 days before baseline
10. Intake of vitamin supplements containing \> 1mg/day folic acid within 48 h prior to the PET/CT with AzaFol
11. Known hypersensitivity or allergy to folic acid
12. Enrolment of the investigator, his/her family members, employees and other dependent persons
13. Participation in another study with investigational drug within the 7 days preceding and during the present study.
Minimum Eligible Age

50 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Paul Scherrer Institut, Center for Proton Therapy

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Britta Maurer

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Locations

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Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, University Hospital Bern, Inselspital

Bern, , Switzerland

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Switzerland

Central Contacts

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Britta Maurer

Role: CONTACT

+41 31 63 2 7229

Facility Contacts

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Britta Maurer, Prof. Dr. med.

Role: primary

+41 31 63 2 72 29

Other Identifiers

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CRAFT

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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