QUANTITATIVE MRS OF THE HUMAN BREAST AT 3T

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中利用 资源由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目和 调查员(PI)可能从NIH的另一个来源获得了主要资金， 并因此可以在其他清晰的条目中表示。列出的机构是 该中心不一定是调查人员的机构。 非常需要改进的非侵入性工具来评估乳腺癌。一种名为磁共振波谱(MRS)的技术，通常与MRI检查一起进行，可以产生关于乳房不同病变内特定代谢物数量的信息。众所周知，含有胆碱的化合物(TCHO)产生的信号量在恶性肿瘤中高于良性和正常组织。许多研究小组以前的工作已经证明，测量Tcho可以提供临床上有用的信息。在临床1.5T磁共振扫描仪上，仅检测到Tcho信号就表明可疑病变是恶性的。也有研究表明，Tcho信号在化疗成功后降低，这表明它可以作为早期反应的指标。然而，如果要使乳腺MRS成为临床可用的工具，则有必要对Tcho进行定量、可靠的测量，而不是对可检测性进行定性判断。该项目的目标是开发和展示一种可靠的方法，用于在临床3T磁共振扫描仪上对乳腺病变进行Tcho的定量测量。其具体目标是1)优化脉冲序列和采集方法，2)评估重复性和识别误差来源，以及3)在小型患者研究中证明监测治疗反应的可行性。这一转化性研究项目将把先进的研究方法引入临床磁共振系统，并为评估临床疗效所需的大规模、多中心试验提供基础。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. There is a great need for improved non-invasive tools for evaluating breast cancer. A technique called magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), generally performed along with a MRI examination, can produce information about the quantities of specific metabolites within a distinct lesion in a breast. The amount of signal produced by choline-containing compounds (tCho) is known to be higher in malignant tumors than in benign and normal tissues. Previous work by a number of groups has demonstrated that measuring tCho can provide clinically useful information. On clinical 1.5 T MR scanners, simply detecting a tCho signal indicates that a suspect lesion is malignant. It has also been shown that the tCho signal decreases in response to successful chemotherapy treatment, suggesting that it can be used as an early indicator of response. However, if breast MRS is to be made into a clinically usable tool, it will be necessary to produce quantitative, reliable measurements of tCho, rather than qualitative judgments of detectability.The goal of this project is to develop and demonstrate a reliable methodology for making quantitative tCho measurements in breast lesions on clinical 3T MR scanners. The specific aims are to 1) optimize pulse sequences and aquisition methods, 2) evaluate reproducibility and identify sources of error, and 3) demonstrate feasibility of monitoring response to treatment in a small patient study. This translational research project will bring advanced research methods to a clinical MR system, and provide the foundation for large-scale, multi-center trials that are required to evaluate clinical efficacy.