title: 1H MR spectroscopy in patients with metastatic brain tumors: a multicenter study.
abstract: In a cooperative study involving six clinical MR centers, localized 1H MR spectroscopy was used to characterize untreated metastatic brain tumors (40 cases, 45 lesions). Cubic volumes (3.4 or 8 cm3) filled for more than 50% by metastatic brain tissue were examined by single-voxel double spin echo MRS, by using chemical shift selective imaging (CHESS) pulses for water suppression and TE = 135 ms. Choline (Cho), creatine (Cr) and N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) levels in brain metastases of mammary carcinoma (n = 13), lung cancer (n = 11) and melanoma (n = 10) were similar. Metastasis NAA/Cho signal intensity ratio varied between 0.00 and 1.17, compared with 2.68 +/- 0.56 (SD) in lobus occipitalis and 1.94 +/- 0.63 in corpus nuclei caudati region (P < 0.0001, both). 1H MR spectroscopy, although not suited to recognize the primary tumor of metastases, could serve as a clinical test for excluding (metastatic) tumor as cause of solitary focal brain disorders that are hard to diagnose with current imaging methods.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center (DDHCC), Department of Radiology, University Hospital Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Sijens
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Knopp
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brunetti
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wicklow
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Alfano
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bachert
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Stillman
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kett
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sauter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism / Q000556:secondary*; D002794:Choline / Q000032:analysis; D003401:Creatine / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine; D002794:Choline