The role of magnetic resonance spectroscopy in differentiation between neoplastic and non-neoplastic focal brain lesions

The ability to differentiate neoplastic and non-neoplastic focal brain lesion is critical for appropriate management of patient. Specificity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is low and does not provide adequate data to help the differentiation. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is one of the newly supplementary methods for determining molecular structures of compositions and is used for better differentiation among brain lesions. The applicability of MRI plus MRS in changing the histopathology is undetermined. In order to evaluate the ability of magnetic resonance spectroscopy combined with conventional magnetic resonance imaging, we reviewed related literature till 2013.