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NCI Drug Dictionary


fluorine F 18 fluorothymidine 
A radioconjugate consisting of a thymidine analogue radiolabeled with fluorine F 18, a positron emitting isotope. Phosphorylated by S-phase-specific thymidine kinase 1, fluorine F 18 fluorothymidine is trapped intracellularly by entering the salvage pathway of DNA synthesis without incorporation into DNA. 18F-FLT serves a marker of tumor cell proliferation for imaging with positron emission tomography (PET); as a marker of proliferation rather than metabolism, it is more specific to tumor tissue than 2-deoxy-2-[18F] fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG). This agent is metabolically stable, accumulates in the normal bone marrow and the liver, and does not cross the blood-brain barrier. Check for active clinical trials or closed clinical trials using this agent. (NCI Thesaurus)
Synonyms:18F-FLT
3'-deoxy-3'-[18F]fluorothymidine
fluorothymidine F-18