31P NMR spectroscopy of an experimentally induced intracerebral tumor in mice.

31P surface coil NMR spectroscopy was used to evaluate in vivo high-energy phosphorus metabolism in the brains of mice with experimentally induced primary intracranial and subcutaneous KHT sarcomas. 31P spectra of subcutaneous KHT tumors revealed a lack of detectable phosphocreatine (PCr) levels in the tumor as compared to the relatively high endogenous levels of PCr in normal mouse brain. As the intracerebral tumor size increased, there was a reduction in spectral PCr levels over a 23-day postinoculation period in situ in the brain. No histologic or spectroscopic evidence of tumor-associated necrosis or hypoxia was found. This study demonstrates that surface coil 31P NMR spectroscopy can be used to monitor changes in high-energy phosphate metabolism associated with progressive growth of an experimentally induced mouse brain tumor in situ.