Therapeutic response of breast carcinoma monitored by 31P MRS in situ.

In situ phosphorous MRS was employed to study the metabolites of normal and cancerous breasts, and the alterations of tumor response to therapy. In a group of 7 normal volunteers and 12 patients, the total mobile phosphate content of breast carcinomas was found to be at least two to three times higher than that of the normal breast measured off menstruation. The metabolite profiles of normal and tumorous breasts are coarsely similar. In both cases the intracellular pH (pHi) was either neutral or slightly alkaline (pH greater than 7.0). Prior to treatments, the metabolite levels of phosphoryl monoester-to-ATP ratio of breast neoplasms were higher than those of the controls and decreased after the patients received a few treatments while the pHi fluctuated at a value greater than 7.0. The phosphoryl diester-to-ATP ratio also demonstrated to a lesser extent a decreasing trend in response to therapy.