A fingerprint of 2-[F]FDG radiometabolites - How tissue-specific metabolism beyond 2-[F]FDG-6-P could affect tracer accumulation.

Studies indicate that the radiotracer 2-[F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-[F]FDG) can be metabolized beyond 2-[F]FDG-6-phosphate (2-[F]FDG-6-P), but its metabolism is incompletely understood. Most importantly, it remains unclear whether downstream metabolism affects tracer accumulation Here we present a fingerprint of 2-[F]FDG radiometabolites over time in cancer cells, corresponding tumor xenografts and murine organs. Strikingly, radiometabolites representing glycogen metabolism or the oxPPP correlated inversely with tracer accumulation across all examined tissues.