MR spectroscopy of brain tumors

Background and Aim : Advanced imaging techniques, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can provide more information than that regarding anatomy.These techniques have been commonly used in the clinical field and recently been shown useful in diagnosing brain tumors, especially in cases difficult to specify using conventional imaging. Differentiation requires more than attention to each advanced image.Diagnostic accuracy improves by combining information from MRS with that from other sequences, such as maps of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) generated from DTI and of cerebral blood volume (CBV) generated from PWI.Methods : As MR imaging is applied further to cellular and molecular imaging (e.g., imaging of gene transfer and expression), more possibilities for brain tumor diagnosis and treatment will become evident.Results : MR spectroscopy is a non-invasive technique for measuring tissue metabolites. Changes in tissue metabolites may be useful for diagnosing or characterizing primary and other brain neoplasms, planning treatment, and assessing the results of treatment. Ongoing improvements in equipment and pulse sequence design may make full brain spectroscopy clinically practical in the near future. The authors review the basic concepts of MR spectroscopy and its use in clinical management of brain neoplasmsConclusion : MRS proved to be a useful tool supporting MRI in establishing the type of brain tumor.MRS also enabled the proper differential diagnosis in cases of large inflammatory tumor-like lesions.

Keywords:

MR spectroscopy , brain tumors , clinical field