title: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy reflects cellular proliferative activity in astrocytomas.
abstract: We examined whether proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) could provide accurate information on histological grade and cell proliferation in astrocytomas. We studied 23 patients with astrocytomas: five grade II, 10 grade III and eight with grade IV (glioblastoma multiforme). We performed proton MRS and determined the Ki-67 labeling index (LI), a tumour proliferation marker, in the same areas of the astrocytomas, and examined the statistical relationship between proton MRS and Ki-67 LI. The N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine-phosphocreatine (Cr) and NAA/choline (Cho)-containing compound ratios were always significantly lower and the Cho/Cr ratios significantly higher than those for normal brain. The Cho/Cr ratio correlated positively and the NAA/Cho ratio inversely with Ki-67 LI. These findings suggest that the Cho signal in proton MRS reflects cellular proliferation. In Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, there was no significant difference between high (> 2.0, 14 cases) and low (< 2.0, 9 cases) Cho/cr ratio groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, Okayama University Medical School, Japan. ttamiya@med.okayama-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tamiya
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Furuta
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohmoto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002455:Cell Division; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D019394:Ki-67 Antigen