IN-VIVO P-31 MRS OF EXPERIMENTAL-TUMORS

More than 50% of cancers fail to respond to any individual treatment a nd tumour follow-up after treatment plays a major role in routine ther apy planning and pharmacological research. Today, MRS is the only tech nological approach providing non-invasive access to tumour biochemistr y. Ten years ago. expectations were raised concerning P-31 MRS as an e xciting and promising technical approach to the study of tumours. Howe ver the expectations have not always come to fruition. How close are w e now to seeing routine P-31 NMR in clinical oncology? This review of the 127 published papers shows spectroscopy results in more than 150 e xperimental animal tumour models. These tumour/host/treatment systems provide us with a useful basis to evaluate the current state of the ar t, summarize the basic knowledge presently available, determine the ke y points underlying the present disappointment of some clinical oncolo gists and stimulate new basic research. The information collected conc erns the discussion of the reliability of experimental models in oncol ogy, the technical improvement of magnetic resonance technology and th e monitoring of bioenergetic status, pH regulation and phospholipid me tabolism in treated and untreated tumours. Recent advances (two-thirds of the papers have been published in the last 5 years) seem to provid e more optimistic perspectives than those generally accepted a few yea rs ago in the depressing period following early pioneering work.