# FDG PET

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/fdg-pet/  
OnCo record `fdg-pet` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

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.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: standard-of-care
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- 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

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fludeoxyglucose_(18F)
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fludeoxyglucose_(18F)

## Connected records

- pairings: [Early FDG-PET response → chemotherapy omission (HER2+)](https://onco.cc/pairings/pet-adapted-her2-deescalation/)
- ideas: [De-acidify the tumour so T cells can work in it](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-bio2-lactate-acid-axis/), [FAPI PET as the workup for MCED positives](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-mced-plus-fapi/), [Map metabolic dependencies in the patient, not the dish](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-metabolic-vulnerability-mapping/)
- fronts: [Imaging](https://onco.cc/fronts/imaging/)
- technologies: [Biology-guided radiotherapy (RefleXion X1, SCINTIX)](https://onco.cc/technologies/biology-guided-radiotherapy/), [FES PET (oestrogen receptor imaging)](https://onco.cc/technologies/fes-pet/), [Hypoxia-activated prodrugs](https://onco.cc/technologies/hypoxia-activated-therapy/), [PET (positron emission tomography)](https://onco.cc/technologies/pet/), [PET-adapted (response-adapted) therapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/pet-adapted-therapy/), [PET/CT](https://onco.cc/technologies/pet-ct/), [Quantitative imaging biomarkers (RECIST, PERCIST, SUV, ADC)](https://onco.cc/technologies/quantitative-imaging-biomarkers/)
- drugs: [Fludeoxyglucose F-18 (FDG)](https://onco.cc/drugs/fludeoxyglucose-f18/)
- terms: [Deauville five-point scale](https://onco.cc/terms/deauville-score/), [Deauville score and PET-adapted therapy](https://onco.cc/terms/deauville/), [Hallmark: reprogramming cellular metabolism](https://onco.cc/terms/deregulating-cellular-energetics/), [Lugano classification / Ann Arbor staging](https://onco.cc/terms/lugano-classification/), [Metabolic theory of cancer: from Warburg to oncometabolites](https://onco.cc/terms/metabolic-theory-of-cancer/), [MIBG Curie and SIOPEN scores](https://onco.cc/terms/curie-siopen-score/), [Radiotherapy in lymphoma: involved-site fields, 24 Gy, 4 Gy and total skin electron therapy](https://onco.cc/terms/lymphoma-tx-radiotherapy/), [Standardised uptake value (SUV)](https://onco.cc/terms/suv/), [Transformation: when a slow lymphoma turns into a fast one](https://onco.cc/terms/lymphoma-bio-transformation/), [Warburg effect](https://onco.cc/terms/warburg-effect/)
- cancers: [Advanced-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma (stage III to IV)](https://onco.cc/cancers/advanced-stage-classical-hodgkin-lymphoma/), [ALK-negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/alk-negative-anaplastic-large-cell-lymphoma/), [ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/alk-positive-anaplastic-large-cell-lymphoma/), [Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/dlbcl/), [Early-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma (stage I to II)](https://onco.cc/cancers/early-stage-classical-hodgkin-lymphoma/), [EBV-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/ebv-positive-dlbcl/), [Enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/enteropathy-associated-t-cell-lymphoma/), [Erdheim-Chester disease](https://onco.cc/cancers/erdheim-chester-disease/), [Erdheim-Chester disease, Rosai-Dorfman disease and other histiocytic neoplasms](https://onco.cc/cancers/histiocytoses/), [Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/extranodal-nk-t-cell-lymphoma/), [Follicular lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/follicular-lymphoma/), [HER2-positive breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-her2-positive/), [High-grade B-cell lymphoma with MYC and BCL2 rearrangements (double-hit lymphoma)](https://onco.cc/cancers/high-grade-b-cell-lymphoma-myc-bcl2/), [Hodgkin lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hodgkin-lymphoma/), [Localised adrenocortical carcinoma (ENSAT stage I to III, resectable)](https://onco.cc/cancers/localised-adrenocortical-carcinoma/), [Lymphomatoid papulosis](https://onco.cc/cancers/lymphomatoid-papulosis/), [Mantle cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/mantle-cell-lymphoma/), [Mediastinal grey zone lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/mediastinal-grey-zone-lymphoma/), [Metastatic pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma](https://onco.cc/cancers/metastatic-ppgl/), [Monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T-cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/monomorphic-epitheliotropic-intestinal-t-cell-lymphoma/), [Multiple myeloma](https://onco.cc/cancers/multiple-myeloma/), [Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (nodular lymphocyte-predominant B-cell lymphoma)](https://onco.cc/cancers/nodular-lymphocyte-predominant-hodgkin-lymphoma/), [Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/non-hodgkin-lymphoma/), [Ocular adnexal MALT lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/ocular-adnexal-malt-lymphoma/), [Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (including cutaneous T-cell lymphoma)](https://onco.cc/cancers/peripheral-t-cell-lymphoma/), [Plasmablastic lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/plasmablastic-lymphoma/), [Primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/primary-cutaneous-anaplastic-large-cell-lymphoma/), [Primary large B-cell lymphoma of the testis](https://onco.cc/cancers/primary-testicular-lymphoma/), [Primary mediastinal (thymic) large B-cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/primary-mediastinal-b-cell-lymphoma/), [Relapsed and refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/relapsed-refractory-hodgkin-lymphoma/), [Richter transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/richter-transformation-cll/), [Rosai-Dorfman-Destombes disease](https://onco.cc/cancers/rosai-dorfman-disease/), [Single-system Langerhans cell histiocytosis (bone, skin or one other organ)](https://onco.cc/cancers/lch-single-system/), [T-cell/histiocyte-rich large B-cell lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/t-cell-histiocyte-rich-large-b-cell-lymphoma/)
- trials: [IELSG37](https://onco.cc/trials/ielsg37/), [PHERGain](https://onco.cc/trials/phergain/), [RATHL](https://onco.cc/trials/rathl/)
- roadmaps: [Molecular imaging roadmap: FDG → PSMA → FAP → antigen and immune PET](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/molecular-imaging-roadmap/)
- people: [Aleix Prat](https://onco.cc/people/aleix-prat/), [Andreas Engert](https://onco.cc/people/andreas-engert/), [Hisham Mehanna](https://onco.cc/people/hisham-mehanna/), [Peter Borchmann](https://onco.cc/people/peter-borchmann/), [Wolfgang A. Weber](https://onco.cc/people/wolfgang-weber/)
- pathways: [Cancer metabolism](https://onco.cc/pathways/cancer-metabolism/), [Glutamine addiction](https://onco.cc/pathways/glutamine-metabolism/)
- institutions: [Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging](https://onco.cc/institutions/snmmi/), [University Hospital Southampton / Centre for Cancer Immunology](https://onco.cc/institutions/southampton-cancer/)
- companies: [German Hodgkin Study Group](https://onco.cc/companies/ghsg/), [International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group](https://onco.cc/companies/ielsg/), [LYSA (The Lymphoma Study Association)](https://onco.cc/companies/lysa/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/fdg-pet.json