Belkic Karen. Molecular Imaging Through Magnetic Resonance for Clinical Oncology

Cambridge International Science, 2005. — 333 p.The first part of the book reviews the basic principles of magnetic resonance (MR), and then MRS and MRSI. Some computational aspects are included. Signal processing is initially presented intuitively, using a conceptual approach to conjugate variables, with familiar clinical examples. This is followed by a succinct mathematical exposition aimed at a broad audience. A brief overview of key technological aspects of MR and the nomenclature is also given.Next, the current state of the art of in vivo MR imaging and spectroscopy for cancer diagnostics is presented, beginning with brain tumors, for which molecular imaging through MRS and MRSI have now become key modalities. A systematic review of this very recent body of knowledge, which, indeed, represents an important advance for the detection and characterisation of tumors of the brain, is performed This is followed by systematic reviews of the achievements to date using MRS and MRSI in prostate cancer, gynecological tumors, head and- neck, lymphomas, musculoskeletal and renal tumors. Functional anatomic imaging, advanced MRI and initial results with MRS are presented for hepatic, gastrointestinal and other tumors. This second part of the book concludes with a chapter on the current approach to screening and early diagnosis of breast cancer, and what MRI and MRS have offered to date.
The chapters in this second part of the book include a brief background of epidemiological and clinical aspects of the tumor types examined with MRS and MRSI. Available in vitro MRS data are also presented for each of the malignancies reviewed. Such data consistently yield deeper insights into the metabolite features of specific cancers, and help motivate the quest, presented in the next, and final, part of the book, to extract further information in the clinical setting from molecular imaging via MRS.
The final part of the book discusses the current limitations of in vivo MRS and MRSI and their relationship to reliance upon the conventional Fourier-based framework for data analysis. It is then demonstrated how recent advances in signal processing via the Fast Padé transform, can circumvent many of these problems. We examine how these advances could impact upon cancer diagnostics, with a view to early detection and screening,
In the concluding chapter, we explore the role of molecular imaging through MR within a broader context, in which working and general quality of life, treatment, clinical monitoring and surveillance are part of an integrated whole.