Cancer is a category of diseases characterized by uncontrolled cell growth
and high potential to disseminate to other parts of the body. Cancer diagnosis is
challenging due to the high structure similarity between normal and cancerous cells and
the aggressive diagnostic procedures. Early diagnosis of cancer is crucial to increase
the remission probability and avoid complications. A number of techniques have been
involved in cancer diagnosis including biopsy, laboratory tests, computerized
tomography (CT) scan, Ultrasonography, X-ray imaging, and nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. NMR has been applied both in vivo (known as
magnetic resonance imaging) and in vitro to aid in cancer diagnosis. This chapter
discusses the application of in vitro NMR in diagnosis and prognosis of different types
of cancer with emphasis on the metabolic alterations at early stages of malignancy. The
signature metabolites of brain, breast, epithelial ovarian, prostate, lung, colorectal,
bladder, and oral cancers have been presented. A perspective overview of the role of
NMR spectroscopy in cancer diagnosis has also been presented. This chapter shed the
light on the important role of NMR spectroscopy in cancer diagnosis and treatment
follow up. The applications introduced are not meant to provide a complete list of
existing studies, but to present a wide overview of the current progress in this field. The
chapter will cover the following topics.
Keywords: Applications, Bladder cancer, Brain cancer, Breast cancer, Cancer
diagnosis, Colorectal cancer, Epithelial ovarian cancer, Lung cancer, Nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, Oral cancer, Perspective, Prostate
cancer, Technical aspects.
