| Purpose: Being higher incidence rate, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its sequel is one focus research of cancer therapy in GuangDong province, south of China, Radiotherapy is the most efficiency method to treat NPC. However, radioencephalopathy (RE), one fatal sequel after NPC radiotherapy, has being puzzled clinical therapists and patients for a long time. Unfortunately, RE occur more frequently among those who have gained 3-5years long-term survival after radiotherapy. Once it occurs, the patient suffers stiffly and hardly mends. Someone loss confidence to continue treatment. Worse, one may not die of NPC, but die of RE. Studied by history, symptom, CT scan and magnetic resonance image (MRI), the common conditions of RE have been further understood. Position and symptom classify RE. It is helpful for the preVention of RE to improve the design of the irradiation field and to change expose dose according to the monitored endurance. In reports, there were some successful experiences to treat RE using high-dose corticosteroid. The diagnosis of RE has been emphasized as the sooner the better. Though MIRI has made possible to detect RE sooner and to describe it more accurately than CT scan dose, most of the visible lesions in MIRI are too later to mend. It is difficult to fit the radio dose according to the monitor, which depends on the finds in CT scan or MIRI. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MIRS) were used currently to study the ?? delayed effects of radiation on the normal human brain tissue or on the experimental model, the main metabolite concentrations N-acetylaspartate (NAA), Choline compounds (Cho), and Creatine (Cr) were observed significantly changes, accordingly, changes of the ratios among them. They suggested that MRS could detect RE sooner than MRI does. Most studies performed on the patients that had brain tumors and received lower-dose irradiation than the radiotherapy of NPC dose. The volumes-of-interests (VOI) were limited within the visible lesions found in MRL. Employed different sequences and parameters, the outcomes of these studies are usually incomparable. To observe the proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) variations of RE due to the irradiation of radiotherapy on NPC patients'brain, we expand the VOl to cover the visible lesion and part of normal area in MRI. By 1H-MIRS, the aim of the present study was to find with large population the rule change of the main metabolite concentrations in RE after NPC radiotherapy. We hope to offer the proof to make the RE could be detected as sooner as possible. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patient group: 21 patients, who visited the out patient department or the clinic radiotherapy department of the NanFang hospital during October 1999 and April 2000, were examined with 1H-MRS. 2 females andl9 males, age range 28-67 years, and average 38.3 age. All patients were positive and histological diagnoses their NPC. 18 patients had a lower- defferentiation squamous carcinoma; 3 patients had an undefferentiation squamous carcinoma. All patients received radical cure radiotherapy in 7 to 8 weeks, overall irradiation doses 7OGy to 8OGy, and average 76.3 Gy. After the last radiotherapy, follow-up surveys 19 months to 13 years, and average 43.4 months. The lesions found in MRI, 11 patients were in single temporal lobe, 8 in both temporal lobes, I in brain stem, and 1 in both brain stem and single tempora...
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