Nuclear magnetic resonance study of cancer: systemic effect on the proton relaxation times (T1 and T2) of human serum.

Increased spin-lattice T1 and spin-spin T2 proton relaxation times of malignant tissues are by now well documented phenomena. A "systemic effect" of cancer, evidenced by NMR, has been demonstrated in different experimental models. The present study was undertaken to examine systemic effect in man by measuring serum relaxation times and related biochemical variables in 224 healthy control individuals and 311 patients with solid tumors at different stages of growth. The increase in T1 values is statistically significant in the advanced cancer group but not in the nonevolutive disease group, compared to healthy control group. Variations of T2 values are not significant in this study. There is no correlation of T1 increase with serum ions, total proteins or protein fractions.