Claim: 18F-FDG-PET/CT is better for VEXAS monitoring than stand-alone diagnosis

Grounding: In a multicentre retrospective observational study of 66 patients with genetically confirmed VEXAS syndrome, 125 18F-FDG-PET/CT scans showed persistent abnormalities even during presumed clinical remission, and active disease had more abnormal sites than remission (PMID: 41999206; DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/keag194).

Claim: For RheumaAI, this supports 18F-FDG-PET/CT as a monitoring adjunct in VEXAS syndrome rather than a stand-alone diagnostic test.

Limitation: The evidence is retrospective, uses local qualitative reads, and the FDG uptake patterns are non-specific, so PET/CT cannot replace clinical and hematologic assessment.