Comparative Investigation of Single Voxel Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Dynamic Contrast Enhancement MR Imaging in Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Breast Lesions in a Sample of Iranian Women

Purpose: To make a comparison of single voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy (SV-MRS) and dynamic contrast enhancement (DCE) MRI for differentiation of benign and malignant breast lesions in a sample of Iranian women. Materials and
Methods: A total of 30 women with abnormal breast lesions detected in mammography, ultrasound, or clinical breast exam were examined with DCE and SV-MRS. tCho (total choline) resonance in MRS spectra was qualitatively evaluated and detection of a visible tCho peak at 3.2 ppm was defined as a positive finding for malignancy. Different types of DCE curves were persistent (type 1), plateau (type 2), and washout (type 3). At first, lesions were classified according to choline findings and types of DCE curve, finally being compared to pathological results as the standard reference.
Results: this study included 19 patients with malignant lesions and 11 patients with benign ones. While 63.6 % of benign lesions (7 of 11) showed type 1 DCE curves and 36.4% (4 of 11) showed type 2, 57.9% (11of 19) of malignant lesions were type 3 and 42.1% (8 of 19) type 2. Choline peaks were detected in 18 of 19 malignant lesions and in 3 of 11 benign counterparts. 1 malignant and 8 benign cases did not show any visible resonance at 3.2 ppm so SV-MRS featured 94.7% sensitivity, 72.7 % specificity and 86.7% accuracy.
Conclusions: The present findings indicate that a combined approach using MRS and DCE MRI can improve the specificity of MRI for differentiation of benign and malignant breast lesions.