Abstract

Objectives: Combining functional PET scans with anatomical CT imaging displays improvements in clinical staging of intra-oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) [1-3]. In this study, we are comparing and contrasting this technology to the conventional assays of CT and MRI in detecting the primary lesion, nodal and distant metastases. Study design: Fifty-four primary OSCC cases over a six-month period were staged for their primary lesion, nodal metastases and distant metastases with CT, MRI and FDG-PET/CT scanning. Histology results were the control. Methods: Fifty-four consecutively newly diagnosed patients with OSCC were recruited. Sensitivity for each of the radiological modalities was calculated using the binary classification equation. Results: PET/CT showed most sensitivity to identification of the primary OSCC, followed by MRI imaging and lastly, CT scanning. MRI was most sensitive to detecting neck disease, followed by PET/CT and then CT. Whole body CT and PET/CT imaging identified 6 and 3 distant metastases respectively. Conclusion: PET/CT proved most superior to identifying primary OSCC, while MRI identified most nodal metastases. CT alone has little place. Level of evidence: 1b (Individual prospective cohort study).

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