The use of short-echo-time 1H MRS for childhood cerebellar tumours prior to histopathological diagnosis

• Published in: Pediatric radiology 2007-11, Vol.37 (11), p.1101-1109
• Main Authors: Harris, Lisa M, Davies, Nigel, Macpherson, Lesley, Foster, Katharine, Lateef, Shaheen, Natarajan, Kal, Sgouros, Spyridon, Brundler, Marie-Anne, Arvanitis, Theodoros N, Grundy, Richard G, Peet, Andrew C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aspartic Acid - analogs & derivatives; Aspartic Acid - analysis; Biomarkers, Tumor - analysis; Cerebellar Neoplasms - diagnosis; Cerebellar Neoplasms - metabolism; Cerebellum - metabolism; Child; Choline - analysis; Creatine - analysis; Humans; Inositol - analysis; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy - methods; Protons; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Single-Blind Method
• ISSN: 0301-0449; 1432-1998
• DOI: 10.1007/s00247-007-0571-5

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) measures concentrations of metabolites in vivo and provides a powerful method for identifying tumours. MRS has not entered routine clinical use partly due to the difficulty of analysing the spectra. To create a straightforward method for interpreting short-echo-time MRS of childhood cerebellar tumours. Single-voxel MRS (1.5-T Siemens Symphony NUM4, TR/TE 1,500/30 ms) was performed at presentation in 30 children with cerebellar tumours. The MRS results were analysed for comparison with histological diagnosis. Peak heights for N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr), choline (Cho) and myo-inositol (mIns) were determined and receiver operator characteristic curves used to select ratios that best discriminated between the tumour types. The method was implemented by a group of clinicians and scientists, blinded to the results. A total of 27 MRS studies met the quality control criteria. NAA/Cr >4.0 distinguished all but one of the astrocytomas from the other tumours. A combination of Cr/Cho