J Korean Radiol Soc.  1995 Sep;33(3):465-470.

In vivo31P MR Spectroscopy of Breast Tumors: Preliminary Results

• Jung SS
• Shinn KS
• Suh TS
• Kim HH
• Choe BY

Abstract

PURPOSE
To evaluate the various phosphorus metabolism' of breast tumors with use of in vivo phosphorus-31 (31P) M R spectroscopy (MRS)
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Five patients with breast tumor (benign in two, malignant in three) and three normal healthy volunteers participated in this study. All in vivo31P MRS examinations were performed on 1.5 Twhole-body MRI/MRS system by using a Free Induction Decay (FID) pulse sequence. Tl-weighted MR images were used for localization of tumors. Peak areas for each phosphorus metabolite were measured using a Marquart algorithm.
RESULTS
Breast carcinoma had a substantially larger phosphomonoester (PME) and a smaller phosphocreatine (PCr) peak intensity than normal breast tissue. This was reflected in the relatively higher PME/PCr ratio of breast carcinomas as well as phosphodiester (PDE)/PCr, inorganic phosphate (Pi)/PCr, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)/PCr ratios, compared with normal controls. The mean pH value of breast tumor demonstrating the alkaline nature was higher than that of normal controls. Spectral patterns between benign breast disease and normal breast tissue were quite similar, and differentiation was not established.
CONCLUSION
Our preliminary study suggests that in vivo 31P MRS is a noninvasive examination which may be useful in the early differentiation of malignant breast tumors from normal and benign conditions. However, normal control and benign conditions could not be characterized on the basis of the phosphorus metabolite ratios.

MeSH Terms

Adenosine Triphosphate
Breast Diseases
Breast Neoplasms*
Breast*
Healthy Volunteers
Humans
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy*
Phosphocreatine
Phosphorus
Spectrum Analysis
Adenosine Triphosphate
Phosphocreatine
Phosphorus