Novel Multivoxel-Based Quantitation of Metabolites and Lipids Noninvasively Combined with Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in Breast Cancer.

摘要

Contents: (i) To extend the single-voxel bas ed 2D MRS version of L-COSY to multi-voxel based analogue on a 3T MRI/MRS scanner using the echo-planar imaging (EPI) based spatial encoding for determining metabolic distributions over many vox els, (ii) To implement a Matlab-based post-processing algorithm in order to process the 2D COSY data recorded in breast cancer, (iii) To record DWI and to calculate ADC maps in breast cancer patients and healthy controls, and iv) To correlate the changes in metabolite and lipid levels with ADC changes in breast cancer patients and healthy women. Scope: Improving the specificity of malignant and benign tumors will be a major outcome. Improved imaging techniques will enable unambiguous measurement of metabolites and the lipids in situ, which could potentially complement the existing diagnostic modalities commonly used in breast carcinoma. Major Findings: The MR protocol including 4D EP -COSI and DWI-MRI was successfully evaluated in six healthy women, 3 benign and 2 malignant breast cancer patients on a 3T MRI scanner. Report of the Progress: Multi-slice DWI-MRI and 4D EP-COSI was tested in 2 malignant and 3 benign breast cancer patients and 6 healthy women. The ADC maps using DWI and lipid/water images using EP-COSI have been derived. DWI images showed reduced ADC values in affected mass and the EP-COSI data showing lipid and metabolite changes in breast cancer.