Study of the Characteristics of Normal Breast Tissue During Various Phases of Menstrual Cycle by in Vivo Volume Localized Proton MR Spectroscopy (MRS)

Naranamangalam R. Jagannathan¹, Mahesh Kumar¹, Uma Sharma¹, Rani Gupta Sah¹

In vivo proton MRS from various regions of normal breast of 24 volunteers revealed cyclic variation in the W-F value of para-areolar region during menstrual cycle. In para-areolar region, W-F value was 0.96 0.5 during proliferative phase and reduced to 0.47 0.18 and 0.40 0.29 during follicular and luteal phases. It increased to 0.77 0.6 and to 0.87 0.7 during secretory and menstrual phases. No change was observed for upper and lower quadrants. Any assessment of breast disease using W-F ratio needs careful consideration of location and effect of menstrual related variation in tissue characteristics.