Magnetic Resonance Imaging Staging of Tongue Cancer: Correlation of Radiographic Measurements to Pathology

摘要

Tongue cancer is in the majority of cases treated surgically. A good radiological report is required for the effective surgical treatment as well as for the best outcome and survival rate of thepatients. The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of presurgical MRI in the classification and staging of tongue cancer. 45 presurgical MRI exams of patients with tongue cancer were viewed from the Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial clinic files. The basic tumor's dimensions were measured by two oral radiologists and were then compared with the histological findings of the tumor which were used as the gold standard. Besides the three dimensions of the tumor that were measured the overall volume of the tumor was measured and compared to the volume of the histopathology report. Results: The images were in the majority T2- weighted images. The correlation between the tumor's dimensions was excellent in the cases of the length and width of the lesion (r>0,9) but was not as efficient in the depth of the tumor. The volume estimate and measurement of the tumor was well correlated to the histopathological findings. Conclusions: The present study showed that MRI images are adequate to establish the dimensions of tumors and the depth of tumor invasion.