E. Heissler et al., VALUE OF MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING IN STAGING CARCINOMAS OF THE ORALCAVITY AND OROPHARYNX, International journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery, 23(1), 1994, pp. 22-27
The value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in preoperative tumor (T
) staging was assessed prospectively in 46 patients with malignant car
cinomas of the oropharynx and oral cavity. In each case, the MRI findi
ngs were compared with the preoperative clinical and postoperative his
topathologic findings. MRI showed an accuracy of 890/. in identifying
the T stage, as compared with the histopathologic result. The accuracy
of the clinical examination was 78%. Compared with the clinical exami
nation, MRI is particularly suited for differentiating T3/T4 and the l
arger T2 tumors. MRI tends to overinterpret the T stage when the neigh
boring tissues are inflamed or edematous, as it allows no demarcation
between inflamed or edematous tissue and tumor. Moreover, normal oroph
aryngeal mucous membrane and intrinsic tongue muscle both absorb contr
ast medium. In the clinical examination, the T stage is often underest
imated, as the depth of infiltration and bone involvement cannot alway
s be determined with certainty. The ability of MRI to give an axial, c
oronal, and sagittal image allows an exact preoperative view of tumor
spread and assessment of infiltration into adjacent structures.