Ahopelto K, Saukkonen K, Hagström J, et al. - Given that cancer cells differ from noncancerous cells in glucose metabolism and there is a predictive value of the expression of transketolase-like protein 1 (TKTL1; a key enzyme in the glucose metabolism of cancer cells) for poor prognosis in several cancer types, researchers here analyzed TKTL1 as a prognostic tool and investigated if there is a correlation between TKTL1 expression and 18F-FDG-PET-CT among patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). In this retrospective study, two PDAC patient cohorts were assessed: 168 patients operated on at Helsinki University Hospital between 2001 and 2011, and 20 patients with FDG-PET-CT results available from the Auria Biobank. Patients with a high vs low TKTL1 expression had slightly but not significantly better 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS). Overall findings, however, suggest no possible utility of TKTL1 as a prognostic factor in PDAC with the exception of elderly patients and those with advanced disease. Further study in a larger patient cohort is required for the correlation of TKTL1 with 18F-FDG-PET-CT.