In Vivo Temperature Measurements in Brain Tumors Using Proton MR Spectroscopy

The chemical shift difference between the water resonance and the methyl resonance of N-acetylaspartate was used to determine the in vivo temperature in 43 patients with histologically proven brain tumors. Temperatures were also estimated from the contralateral side in 15 of these patients. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in temperature between meningiomas and the other tumors viz. low grade astrocytomas, grade IV astrocytomas and oligoastrocytomas. Temperature was also significantly different between the contralateral side and the meningiomas (p < 0.05).