Increased accumulation of 2-deoxy-2-[18F]Fluoro-D-glucose in liver metastases from colon carcinoma

Three patients with liver metastases from colon carcinoma were studied with 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-d-glucose (F-18-FDG) using positron emission tomography. The radioactivity in the metastatic tumor increased continuously following the injection of F-18-FDG, whereas it decreased in normal liver tissue. This resulted in the tumor to normal-liver ratio of 3.3-4.7 at 50 min after injection. The liver tumor was visualized as an increased accumulation of radioactivity in all patients, with the central area of the tumor showing less activity. These preliminary results suggest that F-18-FDG may be useful as a positive imaging agent for the detection and characterization of liver tumors.