EFFECTS OF THERAPY ON THE H-1-NMR SPECTRUM OF A HUMAN GLIOMA LINE

Currently it is difficult to predict the efficacy of any therapeutic m odality in individual patients. If it could be shown that successful t herapy causes some chemical alteration in the tumor before gross alter ation in size becomes radiologically visible, the therapeutic regimen could potentially be modified, sparing the patients longer trials of i neffective therapy. We used proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectros copy to detect the presence of simple metabolites (such as lactic acid , creatine/phosphocreatine, N-acetyl aspartate, and the ''choline'' po ol) in extracts of a human glioma grown subcutaneously in athymic (''n u/nu'') mice. By comparing the tumor spectra obtained from untreated m ice with tumor spectra from mice treated with chemotherapy or irradiat ion, we have shown a significant decrease in the lactate/creatine and lactate/choline values in tumors of similar size following treatment. Such information could prove valuable as a means of monitoring tumor t herapy when obtained noninvasively from spatially localized in vivo sp ectra.