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Noninvasive imaging technique may replace risky brain tumor biopsies
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A new noninvasive imaging technique to diagnose brain tumors may eliminate the need for surgery in patients whose tumors are in parts of the brain deemed too risky to biopsy, according to study results published in Nature Medicine.
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas determined that the magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) technique is capable of providing “a definitive diagnosis” of cancer based on images of protein 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG).
The 2HG protein is associated with mutations in IDH1 and IDH2, according to background information in the study. The gene mutations are present in most low- and intermediate-grade gliomas, a tumor type that starts in the brain or spine.
Researchers developed the MRS test by adjusting the settings of an MRI scanner to calculate levels of the 2HG protein.
They performed MRS imaging on 30 patients with gliomas enrolled in a UT Southwestern clinical trial. They then compared the imaging results with biopsy samples, which showed 15 of the patients had the mutation and high levels of the 2HG protein.
MRS imaging predicted with 100% accuracy which patients had the mutation. The technique showed an absence of 2HG in 100% of patients who did not have the mutation, suggesting the technique is highly sensitive and specific.
“To our knowledge, this is the only direct metabolic consequence of a genetic mutation in a cancer cell that can be identified through noninvasive imaging,” researcher Elizabeth Maher, MD, associate professor of internal medicine and neurology and medical director of the neuro-oncology program at UT Southwestern Medical Center, said in a press release.
“This is a major breakthrough for brain tumor patients,” Maher said. “Our next step is to make this testing procedure widely available as part of routine MRIs for brain tumors. It doesn’t require any injections or special equipment.”
For more information:
- Choi C. Nat Med. 2012;doi:10.1038/nm.2682.