choline c 11

Choline C 11 is a radiopharmaceutical used as a diagnostic imaging agent in positron emission tomography (PET) scans. It consists of choline labeled with the radioactive isotope carbon-11 (^11C). The drug is primarily indicated for PET imaging in patients with suspected recurrent prostate cancer when other imaging modalities such as bone scintigraphy, CT, or MRI are non-informative. Choline is an essential precursor for the biosynthesis of cell membrane phospholipids; its uptake and incorporation into cell membranes are increased in rapidly proliferating tumor cells due to elevated phospholipid synthesis and choline kinase activity. After intravenous administration, ^11C-choline accumulates preferentially in tissues with high cellular proliferation rates—such as tumors—enabling their detection by PET scanning. The agent has also shown promise for identifying overactive parathyroid glands when other tests fail[1][3][4][5][6][8].

Brand names

Choline C 11

Other names

^[11C]choline^[11C]choline chloride