Fourier component imaging of water resonance in the human breast provides markers for malignancy

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that voxels with inhomogeneously broadened water resonances, as revealed by high spectral and spatial resolution (HiSS) MRI, correlate with underlying tumor pathology findings, and thus carry diagnostically useful information. Thirty-four women with mammographically suspicious breast lesions were imaged at 1.5 T, using high-resolution echo-planar spectroscopic imaging. Fourier component images (FCIs) of the off-peak spectral signal were generated, and clusters of voxels with significant inhomogeneous broadening (broadened clusters) were identified and correlated to biopsy results. Inhomogeneously broadened clusters were found significantly more frequently in malignant than in benign lesions. A larger percentage of broadened cluster voxels were found inside the malignant versus benign lesions. The high statistical significance for separation of benign and malignant lesions was robust over a large range of post-processing parameters, with a maximum ROC area under curve of 0.83. In the human breast, an inhomogeneously broadened water resonance can serve as a correlate marker for malignancy and is likely to reflect the underlying anatomy or physiology.