Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and its application in colorectal cancer diagnosis and screening: A narrative review

Abstract

There are several slightly invasive methods to detect colorectal carcinoma (CRC) including colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy; but there is no noninvasive, accurate screening test. It is recommended to initiate screening at the age of 50 for non-familial CRC. Laboratory tests are routinely suggested if internal observation and imaging are recommended for further evaluation. Spectroscopic-based imaging, such as magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is an interesting and promising tool with the potential to be an alternative to some minimally invasive procedures, such as biopsy. Accordingly, MRS might be a suitable substitution for invasive methods, such as colonoscopy. This article aimed to review the studies that have evaluated the MRS technique as a screening tool in CRC. R ESUM E Il existe plusieurs m ethodes minimalement invasives pour la d etection de carcinome colorectal (CRC), incluant la colonoscopie et la sigmo€ ıdoscopie; mais il n'existe aucun test de d epistage qui soit a la fois non invasif et pr ecis. Il est recommand e d'entreprendre le d epistage a l'âge de 50 ans pour les patients sans incidence familiale de carcinome colorectal. Les tests de laboratoire sont recommand es de façon routini ere si l'observation interne et l'imagerie sont n ecessaires pour une evaluation plus pouss ee. L'imagerie bas ee sur la spectroscopie, par exemple la spectroscopie par r esonance magn etique (SRM), est un outil int eressant et prometteur ayant le potentiel d'offrir une solution de rechange a certaines proc edures minimalement invasives, comme la biopsie. De la même façon, la SRM pourrait remplacer de façon appropri ee des m ethodes et des proc edures plus invasives, comme la colonoscopie. Cet article se penche sur les etudes qui ont evalu e la technique de SRM comme outil de d epistage pour le carcinome colorectal.

Imaging in translational cancer research

“…Furthermore, MRS has been applied in many other tumors, particularly prostate cancer, thus revealing low levels of citrate, a key metabolite in oxidative phosphorylation 150 , in colorectal cancer 151 , cancers of the head and neck 152 , or breast cancer with elevated choline peaks 153 .…”