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fluorine F 18 fluoromethylcholine
Pronunciation
Definition 1
A radioactive substance being studied in PET imaging to detect certain types of cancer. Fluorine F 18 fluoromethylcholine gets taken up by cells in the body and more of it is taken up by tumor cells than by normal cells. A PET scanner is used to detect which cells in the body have taken up fluorine F 18 fluoromethylcholine. It is a type of radioimaging agent. Also called 18F-choline, 18F-fluoromethylcholine, and 18F-FMCH. (NCI Dictionary)
Definition 2
A radiotracer consisting of methylcholine labeled with the positron-emitting radioisotope fluorine F 18 (18F-FMCH) with potential imaging use. Upon administration, 18F-fluoromethylcholine incorporates into tumor cells through an active, carrier-mediated transport mechanism for choline and then is phosphorylated intracellularly by choline kinase, an enzyme frequently upregulated in human tumors, yielding phosphoryl 18F-fluoromethylcholine. In turn, phosphoryl 18F-fluoromethylcholine is integrated into phospholipids in the cell membrane as part of phosphatidylcholine. As the proliferation of cancer cells is much higher than normal cells, tumor cells exhibit an increased rate of 18F-FMCH uptake and incorporation, allowing tumor imaging with positron emission tomography (PET). (NCI Thesaurus)
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