In Vivo Detection of IDH Mutations in Gliomas by 1H-MRS

Changho Choi¹, Sandeep Ganji¹, Ralph De Berardinis¹, Zoltan Kovacs¹, Robert Bachoo¹, Juan Pascual¹, Ivan Dimitrov^1,2, Bruce Mickey¹, Craig Malloy^1,3, Elizabeth Maher¹

Recent studies indicate that a high fraction of gliomas contain mutations in the metabolic enzymes, isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 and -2, IDH1 and IDH2. As a result, 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG), which is normally present in vanishingly small quantities, can be elevated by orders of magnitude in gliomas bearing IDH1 or IDH2 mutations. Here, we report for the first time in vivo detection of this oncometabolite in human brain tumors by 1H-MRS at 3T. 2HG was detected with CRLB < 20% in 38 spectra out of 122 spectra from 49 tumor patients (29 GBM, 9 anaplastic astrocytoma, and 11 low-grade glioma), the concentrations being 2 - 8 mM.