A multi-centre, web-accessible and quality control-checked database of in vivo MR spectra of brain tumour patients.

OBJECTIVE: To describe an Internet-accessible database that contains validated in vivo MR spectra and clinical data of brain tumour patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All data from patients entering the INTERPRET project (International Network for Pattern Recognition of Tumours Using Magnetic Resonance, ) were stored in a web-accessible database (iDB) and selected using its query functionality. Criteria for selection were that the case had a single voxel (SV) short-echo (20-32 ms) 1.5 T spectrum acquired from a nodular region of the tumour, that the voxel had been positioned in the same region as where subsequent biopsy was obtained, that the short-echo spectrum had not been discarded because of acquisition artefacts or other reasons, and that a histopathological diagnosis was agreed among a committee of neuropathologists. When the spectra were obtained from normal volunteers or were of abscesses or clinically proven metastases, biopsy was not required. RESULTS: A subset of 304 cases (22 normal volunteers and 282 tumour patients) was obtained. These cases were migrated to another similar database (validated-DB). CONCLUSION: The validated-DB complies with ethics regulations and represents the population studied. It is accessible by neuroradiologists willing to use information provided by MRS to help in the non-invasive diagnosis of brain tumours.