Response of solid tumors to chemotherapy monitored by in vivo 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy: a review.

In vivo 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy has shown great promise as a tool for cancer research and the clinical management of solid tumors. It is now possible in some cases to integrate MR spectroscopy with routine MR imaging of the cancer patient, so that tissue identified as tumor on an MR image can be examined biochemically and monitored following treatment. Alterations have been observed in the phosphorus MR spectra of patient tumors after treatment, but the causes and consequences of these alterations are poorly understood. Here we review data obtained from experimental animal tumor models treated with chemotherapy in order to gain insight into the biological events reflected in MR spectroscopic changes, and to determine what information the spectra provide about the success or failure of therapeutic interventions. An attempt is made to relate these experimental findings to the cancer clinic and to analyze the contributions of MR spectroscopy to the understanding of tumor biology.