I’ve read that the FDG (Fluoro-2-Deoxyglucose) PET/CT scan being glucose-based, is great for brain, lung, lymphoma, and some other cancers that gobble up glucose for energy, but for prostate cancers (which gobble up testosterone for energy), it doesn’t work as well unless the prostate cancer is very aggressive.

Drs Moyad and Scholz discussed this at a PCRI conference a few years ago: https://youtu.be/-PyqazlkpCE?si=IQ3BCWkZqVkloCiC

And Dr Scholz here: https://youtu.be/zwvGb8XGDqg?si=YKMym483RGQmzu0a

The Axumin (F18-Fluciclovine) PET/CT scan is different. The Axumin scan works by exploiting the fact that prostate cancers absorb amino acids at a much more rapid pace than normal cells. Axumin is made up of a radioactive tracer linked to an amino acid. Cancer cells absorb the amino acids more avidly than normal cells, so when Axumin is used, the radioactive tracer concentrates inside the tumor cells. When the patient is imaged, the areas that have a high concentration of the imaging agent signal the location of the cancer in the patient’s body.

All this stuff I’m learning, I hope I never have to use!