The magnetization transfer characteristics of human breast tissues: an in vitro NMR study.

A series of freshly excised human breast tissues was analysed using a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer and then subjected to routine histopathology examination. Tissues comprised normal parenchymal, adipose, fibrocystic, fibroadenoma and malignant types. An inversion-recovery sequence performed both with and without magnetization transfer allowed T1, T1s, M0 and Ms values to be obtained. From this information, the magnetization transfer rate constant, K, was calculated for each tissue sample. These data show that T1s provided greater discrimination between neoplasic and normal tissues than did T1. However, neither T1s nor K values provided a means of discriminating between benign and malignant disease.