Which radiotracer is a glucose analog used in PET?

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Multiple Choice

Which radiotracer is a glucose analog used in PET?

Explanation:
In PET imaging, tracers that resemble glucose are used to map how actively tissues are consuming glucose. The glucose-analog tracer is fluorine-18 labeled FDG. It enters cells via glucose transporters and is then phosphorylated by hexokinase to FDG-6-phosphate. Unlike regular glucose, FDG-6-phosphate isn’t further metabolized, so it becomes trapped inside the cell. Areas with high glycolytic activity—such as many cancers or certain brain regions—show higher FDG accumulation, which PET detects as brighter signals. The other tracers are for measuring blood flow rather than glucose metabolism: water labeled with oxygen-15 measures perfusion, ammonia-13 is used for myocardial perfusion imaging, and rubidium-82 serves as a perfusion agent as well. They don’t function as glucose analogs, so they don’t track glycolytic activity like FDG does.

In PET imaging, tracers that resemble glucose are used to map how actively tissues are consuming glucose. The glucose-analog tracer is fluorine-18 labeled FDG. It enters cells via glucose transporters and is then phosphorylated by hexokinase to FDG-6-phosphate. Unlike regular glucose, FDG-6-phosphate isn’t further metabolized, so it becomes trapped inside the cell. Areas with high glycolytic activity—such as many cancers or certain brain regions—show higher FDG accumulation, which PET detects as brighter signals.

The other tracers are for measuring blood flow rather than glucose metabolism: water labeled with oxygen-15 measures perfusion, ammonia-13 is used for myocardial perfusion imaging, and rubidium-82 serves as a perfusion agent as well. They don’t function as glucose analogs, so they don’t track glycolytic activity like FDG does.

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