Korean J Radiol.  2001 Jun;2(2):80-86. 10.3348/kjr.2001.2.2.80.

Human in-vivo 31P MR Spectroscopy of Benign and Malignant Breast Tumors

• Park JM
• Park JH

• KMID: 754109
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/kjr.2001.2.2.80

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To assess the potential clinical utility of in-vivo 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in patients with various malignant and benign breast lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventeen patients with untreated primary malignant breast lesions (group I), eight patients with untreated benign breast lesions (group II) and seven normal breasts (group III) were included in this study. In-vivo 31P MRS was performed using a 1.5 Tesla MR scanner. Because of the characteristics of the coil, the volume of the tumor had to exceed 12 cc (3 x 2 x 2 cm), with a superoinferior diameter at least 3 cm. Mean and standard deviations of each metabolite were calculated and metabolite ratios, such as PME/PCr, PDE/PCr, T-ATP/PCr and PCr/T-ATP were calculated and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Significant differences in PME were noted between groups I and III (p=0.0213), and between groups II and III (p=0.0213). The metabolite ratios which showed significant differences were PME/PCr (between groups II and III) (p=0.0201), PDE/PCr (between groups I and III, and between groups II and III) (p=0.0172), T-ATP/PCr (between groups II and III) (p=0.0287), and PCr/T-ATP (between groups II and III) (p=0.0287). There were no significant parameters between groups I and II. CONCLUSION: In-vivo 31P MRS is not helpful for establishing a differential diagnosis between benign and malignant breast lesions, at least with relatively large lesions greater than 3 cm in one or more dimensions.

Keyword

Breast neoplasms, MR; Magnetic resonance (MR), spectroscopy; Magnetic resonance (MR), phosphorus studies; 31P MRS, breast diseases; 31P MRS, invasive ductal, carcinoma

MeSH Terms

Adult
Breast Neoplasms/*diagnosis/*metabolism
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Human
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy/*methods
Middle Age
Phosphates/metabolism
Tumor Markers, Biological/metabolism

Figure

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  Fig. 1 31P MRS of a 27-year-old patient with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. Among the seven phosphate metabolites, PDE shows the highest level (644.77) and PCr is low (48.34). Arrows indicate the mentioned values.

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  Fig. 2 31P MRS of a 38-year-old patient with benign phyllodes tumor. Among the seven phosphate metabolites, PDE shows the highest level (682.13) and PCr is low (83.47). Arrows indicate the mentioned values.

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  Fig. 3 31P MRS of a 41-year-old normal volunteer. Note the highest peak of PCr (247.53). An arrow indicates the mentioned value.

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  Fig. 4 A. 31P MRS of a 43-year-old patient with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast prior to chemotherapy. Note the high levels of PME (358.83) and PDE (746.24) and the relatively low PCr level (308.42). B. Follow-up MRS after chemotherapy. The PCr level is relatively high (165.65), and PME and PDE levels are lower than in the previous study, i.e. 92.43 and 121.26, respectively. Arrows indicate the mentioned values.

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