Quantitative assessment of cervical lymph nodes affected by medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw using magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to quantitative assessment of cervical lymph nodes affected by medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials and Methods : The study group comprised 36 patients (36 women, 58-90 years, mean age 77.67 years) who underwent MRI examination from June 2016 to April 2022. The lymph nodes were measured on the STIR image. A comparison of cervical lymph node number and short-axis size in each group with and without MRONJ was performed using t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. P <0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.

Results : The number and size of cervical lymph nodes in the MRONJ group were significantly more and larger, respectively, than those in the non-MRONJ group (P < 0.01).

Conclusion : This study suggests that MRI is useful for quantitative assessment of the cervical lymph nodes affected by MRONJ.