Novel PET tracers in the management of cardiac sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a systemic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology, pathologically characterized by non-caseating granulomas involving several organs and tissues. This pathological process can eventually affect the heart during his course leading to fibrosis associated with systolic dysfunction, conduction disturbance, and even sudden cardiac death. Due to this prognostic impact, diagnosis is crucial to optimize clinical management. The low sensitivity of endomyocardial biopsy and its invasive nature prevents its application as a first-line diagnostic approach. Thus, several efforts have been dedicated to the identification of advanced imaging tools for the diagnosis and monitoring of cardiac involvement in systemic sarcoidosis, including Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Starting from strengths and disadvantages of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET imaging, the present narrative review will summarize state of the art and future perspectives about radiotracers other than 18F-FDG of potential interest in the field of CS, including somatostatin receptor-ligands, proliferation markers and hypoxia displaying agents.