Magnetic resonance spectroscopy for the initial diagnosis and staging of prostate, brain, breast and other cancers: horizon scanning report
Smartt P
Record ID 32010001701
English
Authors' recommendations:
• It appears that MRS has now advanced beyond the ‘experimental’ stage and that there has been some diffusion into clinical practice.• In oncology MRS has been applied primarily in the diagnosis and management of prostate, brain and breast cancer.• Potential uses include cervical (uterine), head and neck, hepatobiliary/pancreatic and haematopoietic cancers.• The number of primary research studies reporting on the clinical utility of MRS when added to MR imaging was small in relation to the total number of MRS studies identified.• The studies reviewed generally demonstrated the usefulness of MRS in the diagnosis of prostate, brain and to a lesser extent breast cancer; however, the studies were generally small, and carried out in a single centre.• The main advantage of MRS when used as an adjunct to MR imaging for the purpose of diagnosis was reported to be a gain in specificity, i.e., an increase in the proportion of cases/lesions correctly identified as benign/non malignant.• The absence of large multicentre trials of MRS has been cited as one of the main reasons for lack of reimbursement and slow diffusion of the technique into routine clinical practice. Another is the lack of studies reporting on the diagnostic and therapeutic impact of the technology.• Following a number of recommendations by authors and agencies, multicentre studies of MRS are in progress.• The application of MRS in oncology is still being actively researched, reported in conferences and assessed in clinical trials.
Details
Project Status:
Completed
Year Published:
2009
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
New Zealand
MeSH Terms
- Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
- Neoplasm Staging
- Brain Neoplasms
- Breast Neoplasms
- Neoplasms
- Prostatic Neoplasms
Contact
Organisation Name:
Health Services Assessment Collaboration
Contact Address:
University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
Contact Name:
hsac@canterbury.ac.nz
Contact Email:
hsac@canterbury.ac.nz
Copyright:
Health Services Assessment Collaboration (HSAC)
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