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Biochemical characterization of breast tumors by in vivo and in vitro magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)

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Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) have evolved as sensitive tools for anatomic and metabolic evaluation of breast cancer. In vivo MRS studies have documented the presence of choline containing compounds (tCho) as a reliable biochemical marker of malignancy and also useful for monitoring the tumor response to therapy. Recent studies on the absolute quantification of tCho are expected to provide cut-off values for discrimination of various breast pathologies. Addition of MRS investigation was also reported to increase the specificity of MRI. Further, ex vivo and in vitro MRS studies of intact tissues and tissue extracts provided several metabolites that were not be detected in vivo and provided insight into underlying biochemistry of the disease processes. In this review, we present briefly the role of various 1H MRS methods used in breast cancer research and their potential in relation to diagnosis, monitoring of therapeutic response and metabolism.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Profs. G.K. Rath, P.K. Julka, A. Srivastava, S. D. Gupta, R. Parshad, V. Seenu, S. N. Dwivedi, R. Sharma, Dr. M. Kumar, Mr. K. A. Danishad and Ms. R. G. Sah for their help, support and for many fruitful discussions. The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India is acknowledged for financial support (SP/S0/B27/95, SP/S0/B21/2001and SP/S0/HS-80/2006).

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  1. Department of NMR & MRI Facility, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India

    Uma Sharma & Naranamangalam R. Jagannathan

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  1. Uma Sharma
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  2. Naranamangalam R. Jagannathan
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Correspondence to Naranamangalam R. Jagannathan.

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Sharma, U., Jagannathan, N.R. Biochemical characterization of breast tumors by in vivo and in vitro magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Biophys Rev 1, 21–26 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-008-0004-1

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