EFFICACY OF TRANSCUTANEOUS COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY - GUIDED FINE-NEEDLE ASPIRATION BIOPSY IN PATIENTS WITH LARYNGEAL SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA, PROBABLE FAILED RADIATION-THERAPY, AND NEGATIVE TRANSMUCOSAL BIOPSIES

For patients with suspected recurrent/persistent laryngeal squamous ce ll carcinoma (SCC) after external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), routine tr ansmucosal biopsies obtained during direct laryngoscopy may fail to re veal active carcinoma. We evaluated transcutaneous computed tomography -guided fine needle aspiration (CTGFNA) in three consecutive patients who had a persistently fixed true vocal fold after EBRT that had been administered for laryngeal SCC and who had multiple negative transmuco sal laryngeal biopsies. All three CTGFNA biopsies were positive, but f inal pathology confirmed invasive SCC in only one of the three patient s. Despite its theoretical advantages, CTGFNA in its present form requ ires further assessment and/or modification.