Oral-maxillofacial malignant tumors: an initial study with in vivo single-voxel 1H MR spectroscopy

Abstract

To investigate the possibility of using single-voxel (1)H MR spectroscopy to evaluate malignant soft tissue tumors of oral-maxillofacial region. Forty-two patients with oral-maxillofacial malignant tumors, examined by single-voxel (1)H MR spectroscopy at a 1.5 T MR unit before treatment and confirmed by histo-pathological examination, were retrospectively studied. The localization for (1)H MR spectroscopy was used with a point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) at echo time of 144 ms. Choline (Cho), one of tumor's metabolites, was considered as a criterion to assess the malignant tumors. Of 42 oral-maxillofacial malignant tumors, the Cho peak was identified in 37 lesions, including 15 of 17 squamous cell carcinomas, 9 of 12 salivary carcinomas, and 13 of 13 sarcomas and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Single-voxel (1)H MR spectroscopy might provide useful information for the assessment of malignant soft tissue tumors in the oral-maxillofacial region. Most malignant tumors in this study were characteristic of containing Cho metabolites. The Cho peak was more frequently recognized in the sarcomas and non-Hodgkin lymphomas than in the carcinomas.