A. Aria Tzika
Harvard Medical School, Boston
Title: Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging in Pediatric Brain Tumors
Biography
Biography: A. Aria Tzika
Abstract
Magnetic resonance (MR) techniques offer a noninvasive, non-irradiating yet sensitive approach to diagnose and monitor pediatric brain tumors. Proton MR spectroscopy (MRS), as an adjunct to MRI, has been more widely applied to monitor the metabolic aspects of brain cancer. In vivo MRS biomarkers represent a promising advance and may influence treatment choice both at initial diagnosis and follow-up, given the inherent difficulties of sequential biopsies to monitor therapeutic response. When combined with anatomical or other types of imaging, MRS provide unique information regarding biochemistry in inoperable brain tumors and may complement neuropathologic data, guide biopsies and suggest therapeutic options. The combination of non-invasively acquired prognostic information and the high-resolution anatomical imaging provided by conventional MRI is expected to surpass molecular analysis or DNA microarray gene profiling, both of which, although promising, depend on invasive biopsy. This presentation will focus on recent bibliographic data in the field of MRS in children with brain tumors.