Role of magnetic resonance spectroscopy in brain space occupying lesions for detection of malignancy and grading of malignant lesions

Abstract

Background: Magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy is a non-invasive technique that enables tissue characterization on a biochemical level using radio frequency signals emitted by the nuclei in the tissue. Primary aim is at determining the utility of MR spectroscopy to differentiate malignant from benign lesions and to assess its role in grading of gliomas as secondary objectives.Methods: MR system with proton spectroscopic capability using standard head coils and quantum gradients used in a sample size of 50 patients with intracranial space occupying lesions in conventional MRI. The diagnostic accuracy of the spectroscopic data based on the Cho/Naa ratios was used to detect the malignant lesions and distinguish them from the benign lesions.Results: The lesion characterization using the MR spectroscopic data in distinguishing malignant lesions from benign was statistically compared with the histopathological data using chi square tests proved to be significant with p value of less than 0.05. Grading of the malignant space occupying lesion with the available spectroscopic data was done with the corresponding histopathology that proved statistically not significant.Conclusions: Statistical data proves utility of MR spectroscopic data in differentiating malignant occupying lesions from benign. Role of spectroscopic data in grading the malignant lesion to differentiate to low and high grade could not be determined statistically which may be attributed to low sample size in the secondary objective.