COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY OF CARCINOMA OF THE UPPER GINGIVA AND HARD PALATE- CORRELATION WITH THE SURGICAL AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS

Objectives: To clarify the diagnostic utility of CT in the evaluation of carcinoma of the maxillary gingiva and hard palate. Methods: The CT scans of 27 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the upper gingiv a and hard palate were reviewed, Tumor extent and bone destruction wer e compared with the surgical and histopathological findings to estimat e the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of CT. Results: The primar y tumor was detected by CT in 89% of patients. The grade of bone destr uction determined by CT correlated well with that verified at surgery or by histopathological examination. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CT for invasion to the buccal mucosa were 64%, 89% and 75 % respectively. For maxillary sinus invasion, CT showed low specificit y but high sensitivity. The accuracy was 86% when the criterion for si nus invasion was the presence of an enhanced mass continuous with the primary tumor. Conclusion: CT is helpful for the evaluation of tumor e xtent in the upper gingiva and hard palate carcinoma. However, invasio n of the maxillary sinus should be considered carefully, because CT fi ndings suggestive of destruction of the floor of the maxillary sinus a re not always consistent with sinus invasion.