Jo. Zieron et al., Single photon emission tomography: Scintigraphy in the assessment of mandibular invasion by head and neck cancer, HEAD NECK, 23(11), 2001, pp. 979-984
Citations number
15
Categorie Soggetti
Otolaryngology
Journal title
HEAD AND NECK-JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENCES AND SPECIALTIES OF THE HEAD AND NECK
Background. This study was performed to determine the effectiveness of sing
le photon emission tomography (SPET) in contributing to the initial staging
of patients with cancers of the head and neck because information about os
seous infiltration of head and neck cancer is of major importance for stagi
ng and planning of treatment.
Methods. A retrospective analysis of 89 cases with probable tumor infiltrat
ion of the mandible by oral/pharyngeal cancer was undertaken by comparing t
he preoperative SPET as well as CT-scans, if available, with clinical and p
ostoperative histological examinations.
Results. For SPET examinations, a sensitivity of 95%. and a specificity of
48% were calculated. The positive predictive value was 65%, and the negativ
e predictive value was 93%. CT scans showed a sensitivity of 75% and a spec
ificity of 78%. The positive predictive value was 65%, and the negative pre
dictive value was 93%.
Conclusions. SPET is a powerful method to detect infiltration of carcinomas
into the head and neck skeleton. Its sensitivity is high and superior to C
T scans, although the specificity is small due to a high number of false po
sitive results. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.