Continuous distributions of NMR relaxation times applied to tumors before and after therapy with X-rays and cyclophosphamide.

In vivo measurements of T1 and T2 values in two experimental tumors growing in the legs of mice were made during tumor growth and after treatment of the tumor with either X-rays or cyclophosphamide. The T1 and T2 values were obtained by fitting the data to continuous distributions of relaxation times. This technique gives broad distributions of relaxation times which are characterized by a number of peaks with characteristic T1 and T2 values. Before treatment, the T1 and T2 values increased before a palpable tumor mass could be detected. The response to subcurative doses of either treatment method was a reduction in the T1 and T2 values and a parallel reduction in tumor weight. Although local recurrence was characterized by the same pattern of tumor growth as was observed before treatment, therapy was found to give higher relaxation time values than those measured in untreated tumors. The higher relaxation time values of tumor-bearing legs were the result of redistribution of the peaks in the distribution and not changes in the relaxation times of the individual peaks.