Diagnostic value of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) for detection of Brain Tumors in patients

Abstract

Objective: In the present research, the sensitivity and specificity of MRS in the diagnosis of brain tumors were investigated in patients with brain tumors. Materials and Methods: Patients visiting the Kashani Hospital and Sepahan Clinic of Isfahan in 2017, who met the inclusion criteria, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The 35 patients included in the study were examined by an experienced radiologist through MRI with and without contrast. Patients with a brain tumor diagnosed by the radiologist were enrolled in the study and evaluated through MRS. A part of the brain tumor was removed by a neurosurgeon and examined by a pathologist to determine the degree of malignancy. The pathologist was blinded to the MRS results, and the radiologist was blinded to the biopsy results. Findings: In the present study, the measured variables in terms of the area under the ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity showed a high accuracy for the diagnosis of brain tumors (AUC=0.917, 95CI=80-100). The cutoff point was determined as 1.5 (p =0.002 <0.05) which had the highest sensitivity (0.667) and specificity (0.955) in comparison with other cutoff points. Conclusion: In this study, the measured variables in terms of the area under the ROC curve, sensitivity, and specificity showed a high accuracy for the diagnosis of brain tumors by MRS.