THE VALUE OF HIGH-RESOLUTION MR-IMAGING F OR THE STAGING OF MALIGNANTLESIONS OF TONGUE, PHARYNX AND LARYNX

In a prospective study 102 patients with malignant tumors of the tongu e, oropharynx, hypopharynx, and larynx were staged by means of MRI. Sp ecial attention was directed at those tumour extensions that could inf luence the treatment strategy. The MR findings were correlated with th e results of palpation, endoscopy, ultrasound, computerised tomography and histopathological findings. MRI showed a good delineation of pT2 to pT4 tumours. However, visualisation of small tumours in the soft pa late, the tonsils, the pyriform sinuses and vocal cords was difficult. In conclusion our results suggest that in addition to endoscopy MRI i s a valuable tool for the examination of tumours of tongue, oropharynx , hypopharynx and larynx.