Dual-frequency proton spin relaxation measurements on tissues form normal and tumor-bearing mice.

Measurements of pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation times T1 and T2 were made at 2.7 MHz and 15 MHz on water protons in liver, kidney, spleen, muscle, and brain tissue from normal A.SW mice, and in the same tissues and tumors from A.SW mice developing MSWBS tumors (an ascites sarcoma) following dorsal sc implantation of tumor fragments. The measurement precision obtained from improved spectrometer design made it possible to show that T1 and T2 in all tissues except brain were increased by the presence of the tumor in the animal. The responses exhibited by T1 and T2 in liver and kidney were proportional to the size of the tumor. The smaller responses shown by T1 in spleen (15 MHz) and T1 and T2 in muscle (2.7 MHz) also showed a significant correlation with tumor size. The relaxation times for tumor (T1 at 2.7 MHz, T2 at 2.7 and 15 MHz) showed a significant negative correlation with tumor size: The times decreased as tumor size increased. The results were analyzed by use of the two-phase fast exchange model and were consistent with the effects expected if tissue water content increased and tumor water content decreased as tumor size increased. The analysis indicated that the effects arose primarily through changes in b, the fraction of water bound to fast exchange sites on the protein, with important modifications from changes in the correlation times Tc and Tm;Tr controlled the frequency that must be chosen for specific diagnostic applications.