[Brain MR perfusion and MR spectroscopy in differentiation of radiation necrosis from tumor recurrence (case report)]

It is not always possible to differentiate tumor recurrence from radiation necrosis using conventional MR images. In this report we present a case of pathologically proven radiation necrosis which appeared as nodular contrast enhancement on conventional MR images in a patient who was surgically treated for grade II astrocytoma 5 years ago. There were decreased choline, creatine and N-acetyl aspartate peaks and significantly increased lipid peak on multivoxel H1-MR spectroscopy while there was no significant perfusion increase on MR perfusion. These findings suggested changes secondary to radiation necrosis.