{"entity":{"id":"fdg-pet","kind":"technology","name":"FDG PET","aka":[],"tldr":"FDG PET is the standard PET scan. A radioactive sugar shows which tissues are burning glucose fast, which most cancers do.","summary":"FDG PET uses 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose, a radioactive sugar analogue taken up through GLUT transporters and trapped after phosphorylation by hexokinase, exploiting the Warburg effect by which most cancers burn glucose fast. It is the standard PET scan for staging and response in lymphoma (scored on the Deauville scale), lung cancer, melanoma, head and neck cancer and oesophageal cancer, with universal availability and decades of validation. Its limits are biological: infection and inflammation are also hot, normal brain uptake creates a high background, and indolent tumours are poorly seen. It is weak in prostate cancer, low-grade neuroendocrine tumours, mucinous cancers and some breast cancers, which is why target-specific tracers such as PSMA and SSTR ligands exist. FDG PET shows which tissues are consuming glucose fastest, and most, though not all, cancers do.","status":"standard-of-care","asOf":"2026-09-04","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fludeoxyglucose_(18F)","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fludeoxyglucose_(18F)"}],"tags":[],"related":["f-18"],"indications":["nsclc"],"sections":[],"technologies":["pet"],"targets":[],"drugs":["fludeoxyglucose-f18"],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["suv"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":["pet-ct"],"notes":[],"principle":"FDG is taken up via GLUT transporters and trapped after phosphorylation by hexokinase.","strengths":["Universal availability","Decades of validation"],"limitations":["Non-specific: infection and inflammation are also hot","Brain background","Poor in indolent tumours"]},"route":"/technologies/fdg-pet/","neighbours":{"isotope":[{"id":"f-18","kind":"isotope","name":"Fluorine-18","route":"/isotopes/f-18/"}],"indication":[{"id":"colorectal-cancer","kind":"indication","name":"Colorectal cancer","route":"/indications/colorectal-cancer/"},{"id":"dlbcl","kind":"indication","name":"Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma","route":"/indications/dlbcl/"},{"id":"fever-of-unknown-origin","kind":"indication","name":"Fever of unknown origin","route":"/indications/fever-of-unknown-origin/"},{"id":"gastric-oesophageal-cancer","kind":"indication","name":"Gastric and gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma","route":"/indications/gastric-oesophageal-cancer/"},{"id":"breast-her2-positive","kind":"indication","name":"HER2-positive breast cancer","route":"/indications/breast-her2-positive/"},{"id":"metastatic-ppgl","kind":"indication","name":"Metastatic pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma","route":"/indications/metastatic-ppgl/"},{"id":"nsclc","kind":"indication","name":"Non-small cell lung cancer","route":"/indications/nsclc/"},{"id":"pancreatic-cancer","kind":"indication","name":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma","route":"/indications/pancreatic-cancer/"},{"id":"epilepsy-localisation","kind":"indication","name":"Presurgical localisation of drug-resistant focal epilepsy","route":"/indications/epilepsy-localisation/"},{"id":"infection-prosthetic-joint","kind":"indication","name":"Prosthetic joint infection","route":"/indications/infection-prosthetic-joint/"},{"id":"breast-triple-negative","kind":"indication","name":"Triple-negative breast cancer","route":"/indications/breast-triple-negative/"},{"id":"urothelial-cancer","kind":"indication","name":"Urothelial cancer","route":"/indications/urothelial-cancer/"}],"technology":[{"id":"fes-pet","kind":"technology","name":"FES PET (oestrogen receptor imaging)","route":"/technologies/fes-pet/"},{"id":"pet","kind":"technology","name":"PET (positron emission tomography)","route":"/technologies/pet/"},{"id":"pet-adapted-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"PET-adapted (response-adapted) therapy","route":"/technologies/pet-adapted-therapy/"},{"id":"pet-ct","kind":"technology","name":"PET/CT","route":"/technologies/pet-ct/"},{"id":"quantitative-imaging-biomarkers","kind":"technology","name":"Quantitative imaging biomarkers (RECIST, PERCIST, SUV, ADC)","route":"/technologies/quantitative-imaging-biomarkers/"}],"drug":[{"id":"f-18-fdg-brain","kind":"drug","name":"Fludeoxyglucose F-18 (brain metabolism)","route":"/drugs/f-18-fdg-brain/"},{"id":"fludeoxyglucose-f18","kind":"drug","name":"Fludeoxyglucose F-18 (FDG)","route":"/drugs/fludeoxyglucose-f18/"}],"term":[{"id":"deauville-for-pet","kind":"term","name":"Deauville five-point scale for PET","route":"/terms/deauville-for-pet/"},{"id":"curie-siopen-score","kind":"term","name":"MIBG Curie and SIOPEN scores","route":"/terms/curie-siopen-score/"},{"id":"suv","kind":"term","name":"Standardised uptake value (SUV)","route":"/terms/suv/"},{"id":"tumour-to-background-ratio","kind":"term","name":"Tumour-to-background ratio (TBR)","route":"/terms/tumour-to-background-ratio/"}],"institution":[{"id":"snmmi","kind":"institution","name":"Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging","route":"/institutions/snmmi/"}],"trial":[{"id":"ielsg37","kind":"trial","name":"IELSG37","route":"/trials/ielsg37/"},{"id":"phergain","kind":"trial","name":"PHERGain","route":"/trials/phergain/"},{"id":"rathl","kind":"trial","name":"RATHL","route":"/trials/rathl/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"molecular-imaging-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Molecular imaging roadmap: FDG → PSMA → FAP → antigen and immune PET","route":"/roadmaps/molecular-imaging-roadmap/"},{"id":"neuro-imaging-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Neuro-oncology imaging roadmap: FDG PET → amino acid PET → SSTR2 theranostics in meningioma","route":"/roadmaps/neuro-imaging-roadmap/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-mced-plus-fapi","kind":"idea","name":"FAPI PET as the workup for MCED positives","route":"/ideas/idea-mced-plus-fapi/"},{"id":"idea-total-body-pet-lower-dose-tracers","kind":"idea","name":"Using total-body PET's sensitivity to cut diagnostic tracer dose, not just scan time","route":"/ideas/idea-total-body-pet-lower-dose-tracers/"}],"person":[{"id":"heiko-schoder","kind":"person","name":"Heiko Schöder","route":"/people/heiko-schoder/"},{"id":"wolfgang-weber","kind":"person","name":"Wolfgang A. Weber","route":"/people/wolfgang-weber/"}],"opportunity":[{"id":"opp-cardiac-sarcoidosis-specific-tracer","kind":"opportunity","name":"An inflammation tracer that does not need a diet","route":"/opportunities/opp-cardiac-sarcoidosis-specific-tracer/"},{"id":"opp-ceacam5-imaging-colorectal","kind":"opportunity","name":"CEACAM5 imaging for occult colorectal recurrence","route":"/opportunities/opp-ceacam5-imaging-colorectal/"},{"id":"opp-fap-pancreatic-staging","kind":"opportunity","name":"FAP imaging to stop futile pancreatic surgery","route":"/opportunities/opp-fap-pancreatic-staging/"}],"section":[{"id":"f-infection-imaging","kind":"section","name":"Infection & inflammation imaging","route":"/fronts/f-infection-imaging/"},{"id":"f-molecular-imaging","kind":"section","name":"Molecular imaging","route":"/fronts/f-molecular-imaging/"},{"id":"f-neuro-imaging","kind":"section","name":"Neuro-imaging","route":"/fronts/f-neuro-imaging/"}],"pairing":[{"id":"fdg-pet-response-adapted-therapy","kind":"pairing","name":"FDG PET then response-adapted chemotherapy","route":"/pairings/fdg-pet-response-adapted-therapy/"}],"target":[{"id":"glut-hexokinase","kind":"target","name":"GLUT1 / hexokinase (glucose metabolism)","route":"/targets/glut-hexokinase/"}]}}