ABSTRACT
Research studies aimed at defining the value of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for the evaluation of cancer have been undertaken since the early 1980s (1). Readers can refer to the reviews by Negendank and Barker et al. for summaries of the first studies (2,3). MRS accessories for 1.5 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment that were cleared for marketing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) became available in the late 1990s and this promoted further growth in the use of MRS for the evaluation of various cancers (4,5). Of all human cancers, brain cancer has been the most thoroughly explored by MRS (6-9). However, the use of MRS in the evaluation of breast and prostate cancers is also currently expanding (10-13).
