Volumetric MR Imaging of Head and Neck Cancer: Correlation between Tumor Volume and Survival.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The size of the primary lesion and the lymph node metastasis are critical indicators for the patient prognosis. Here we sought to assess the correlation between these two prognostic parameters in patients with pharyngeal or oral cancer. We studied 66 patients with oral (n = 42) or pharyngeal (n = 24) cancer. Of these patients, 26 (10 with oral and 15 with pharyngeal carcers) were associated with lymph node metastases. We measured the volumes of the primary lesions as gadolinium-enhanced areas on T1-weighted images and as hyperintense areas on fat-suppressed (STIR) T2-weighted images. Histologically confirmed metastatic nodes were correlated with those on fat-suppressed T2-weighted MR images. The volume measurements by the two MR imaging sequences yielded similar results. The tumor volumes were well correlated with the T category for the primary lesion both in oral and pharyngeal cancers. The volumes of the oropharhngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers were significantly greater in patients with metastatic nodes than in patients without metastasis, whereas there was no significant correlation between the tumor volume and nodal metastasis in patients with oral cancer. Furthermore, the tumor volume significantly influenced the lymph node distribution in the neck of patients with pharyngeal cancer, but not in those with oral cancer. The tumor volume was a good indicator for the possible nodal metastasis in the neck of patients with oropharngeal or hypopharyngeal cancer, but not in those with oral cancer.