# Fludeoxyglucose F-18 (FDG)

Source: https://nuclide.cc/drugs/fludeoxyglucose-f18/  
Nuclide record `fludeoxyglucose-f18` (Agent). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from Nuclide (nuclide.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The radioactive sugar used in almost every cancer PET scan, approved in the 1990s and made fresh each day by regional cyclotrons.

## Summary

Fludeoxyglucose F-18 was the first PET radiopharmaceutical approved by the FDA (1994, initially for epilepsy foci and cardiac viability) and gained its oncology indication in 2000 for assessing abnormal glucose metabolism to assist in evaluating malignancy in patients with known or suspected cancer. It is produced under multiple abbreviated NDAs by commercial and academic cyclotron networks (PETNET, Cardinal Health, SOFIE, hospital sites) and is the tracer behind staging, response assessment (Deauville in lymphoma, PERCIST) and surveillance across most solid tumours. Its weaknesses, uptake in inflammation and poor sensitivity for indolent or low-glucose tumours, drive the development of target-specific tracers.

## Fields

- Kind: Agent
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: test
- Brand: FDG (multiple manufacturers)
- Modality: PET imaging agent (glucose analogue)
- Mechanism: 18F-labelled glucose analogue taken up through GLUT transporters and trapped after phosphorylation by hexokinase, so metabolically active tumours accumulate signal.
- Approvals: US 1994: First FDG NDA (neurology and cardiology indications); US 2000: Oncology: assessment of abnormal glucose metabolism to assist in evaluating malignancy

## Notes

- What a result means: 'hot spots' show tissue burning glucose fast; in a person with cancer they usually mark tumour, but infection, healing and brown fat can light up too, so findings are interpreted with CT and biopsy.

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fludeoxyglucose_(18F)
- FDA label (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?query=Fludeoxyglucose%20F%2018

## Connected records

- isotopes: [Fluorine-18](https://nuclide.cc/isotopes/f-18/)
- indications: [Fever of unknown origin](https://nuclide.cc/indications/fever-of-unknown-origin/), [Non-small cell lung cancer](https://nuclide.cc/indications/nsclc/), [Presurgical localisation of drug-resistant focal epilepsy](https://nuclide.cc/indications/epilepsy-localisation/), [Prosthetic joint infection](https://nuclide.cc/indications/infection-prosthetic-joint/)
- technologies: [FDG PET](https://nuclide.cc/technologies/fdg-pet/), [PET (positron emission tomography)](https://nuclide.cc/technologies/pet/), [PET/CT](https://nuclide.cc/technologies/pet-ct/)
- companies: [Cardinal Health Nuclear & Precision Health Solutions](https://nuclide.cc/companies/cardinal-health/), [DuChemBio](https://nuclide.cc/companies/duchembio/), [PETNET Solutions (Siemens Healthineers)](https://nuclide.cc/companies/petnet-solutions/), [SOFIE Biosciences](https://nuclide.cc/companies/sofie-biosciences/)
- terms: [Standardised uptake value (SUV)](https://nuclide.cc/terms/suv/)
- opportunities: [An inflammation tracer that does not need a diet](https://nuclide.cc/opportunities/opp-cardiac-sarcoidosis-specific-tracer/)
- drugs: [Fludeoxyglucose F-18 (brain metabolism)](https://nuclide.cc/drugs/f-18-fdg-brain/)
- fronts: [Infection & inflammation imaging](https://nuclide.cc/fronts/f-infection-imaging/), [Molecular imaging](https://nuclide.cc/fronts/f-molecular-imaging/)
- roadmaps: [Neuro-oncology imaging roadmap: FDG PET → amino acid PET → SSTR2 theranostics in meningioma](https://nuclide.cc/roadmaps/neuro-imaging-roadmap/)
- targets: [GLUT1 / hexokinase (glucose metabolism)](https://nuclide.cc/targets/glut-hexokinase/)

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