EDIM-TKTL1 blood test: a noninvasive method to detect upregulated glucose metabolism in patients with malignancies.

AIM To determine whether the TKTL1 protein epitope detection in monocytes (EDIM) test allows detection of upregulated glucose metabolism in malignancies. MATERIALS & METHODS The EDIM-TKTL1 blood test was conducted in 240 patients with 17 different confirmed or suspected malignancies. Test scores were compared with (18)F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-PET/computed tomography (CT) results. RESULTS EDIM-TKTL1 score and FDG-PET results showed a concordance of 90% with a sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 81%. Including CT data, all values were enhanced. A subgroup analysis of non-small-cell lung cancer patients showed a significant correlation between the EDIM-TKTL1 score and the primary tumor size determined by FDG-PET/CT. CONCLUSION EDIM-TKTL1 blood test revealed good concordance with FDG-PET/CT results in patients with malignancies demonstrating its efficacy to detect upregulation of glucose metabolism in primary tumors or metastases.