Imaging of glycolysis with 18F-FDG PET

Abstract

18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is an analogue of glucose and is the most common PET radiotracer for oncological applications. Its wide use in clinical practice is primarily due to the Warburg effect, which leads to higher glucose consumption in the malignant cells in comparison to normal tissue. The malignancy-induced hypermetabolism is generally based upon overexpression of cellular membrane glucose transporters (mainly glucose transporter 1, GLUT-1) and enhanced hexokinase enzymatic activity in tumors [1, 2].