Metastasis to the brain is a feared complication of systemic
cancer, associated with significant morbidity and poor prognosis. A better understanding of the
tumor metabolism might help us meet the challenges in controlling
brain metastases. The study aims to characterize the metabolic profile of
brain metastases of different origin using high resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to correlate the metabolic profiles to clinical and pathological information. Biopsy samples of human
brain metastases (n = 49) were investigated. A significant correlation between
lipid signals and
necrosis in
brain metastases was observed (p < 0.01), irrespective of their primary origin. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that
brain metastases from
malignant melanomas cluster together, while lung
carcinomas were metabolically heterogeneous and overlap with other subtypes. Metastatic
melanomas have higher amounts of glycerophosphocholine than other
brain metastases. A significant correlation between microscopically visible lipid droplets estimated by
Nile Red staining and MR visible
lipid signals was observed in metastatic lung
carcinomas (p = 0.01), indicating that the
proton MR visible
lipid signals arise from cytoplasmic lipid droplets. MRS-based metabolomic profiling is a useful tool for exploring the metabolic profiles of metastatic
brain tumors.