NCI Drug Dictionary
The NCI Drug Dictionary contains technical definitions and synonyms for drugs/agents used to treat patients with cancer or conditions related to cancer. Each drug entry includes links to check for clinical trials listed in NCI's List of Cancer Clinical Trials.
- fluorine F 18 fluoroethylcholine
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Ethylcholine labeled with fluorine F 18, a positron-emitting isotope. Fluorine F 18 fluoroethylcholine incorporates into tumor cells through an active, carrier-mediated transport mechanism for choline and then is phosphorylated intracellularly by choline kinase, yielding a phosphoryl derivative, and finally is integrated into cellular phospholipids, probably primarily into a phosphatidyl derivative; concentration of this agent in tumor cells as various fluorine F 18 fluoroethylcholine derivatives enables tumor imaging using positron emission tomography (PET). Choline kinase, the enzyme responsible for the phosphorylation of choline, is frequently up-regulated in human tumor cell lines. Check for active clinical trials using this agent. (NCI Thesaurus)
Abbreviation: 18F-ethylcholine