Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging of human breast cancer by selective multiple quantum coherence transfer

The biochemical changes occurring during neoplastic transformations can be picked up by spatially localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which provides molecular markers for breast cancer diagnosis and for evaluation of tumor malignancy. Unfortunately, due to intense lipid resonances that dominate proton spectra, most spectroscopic information of breast tissue is not available. To solve this problem, we have developed the Selective Multiple-Quantum Coherence Transfer (Sel-MQC) method, permitting in vivo detection of metabolites and antineoplastic agents in murine tumor models in the presence of strong lipid and water signals. The successful animal experiments were performed on a high-field (4.7 Tesla) spectrometer equipped with strong magnetic field gradients (19 Gauss·cm^-1 maximum strength). Here we report preliminary work on metabolite detection in high lipid environment by Sel-MQC on a low field (2.1 Tesla) whole-body human MRI/MRS spectrometer with low magnetic field gradients (1.5 Gauss·cm^-1 maximum strength)