Abstract
In recent years, there have been some reports stating that PET/CT is useful in diagnosing cervical lymph node metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We also use PET/CT in our department to determine N classification before treatment. We examined the usefulness of PET/CT in diagnosing cervical lymph node metastasis by comparing preoperative PET/CT images and postoperative pathological diagnosis of the patients who underwent neck dissection in our department. The subjects were 42 patients (59 sides) who underwent neck dissection within one month after PET/CT was performed and did not receive preoperative treatment such as induction chemotherapy. Among 23 sides diagnosed as positive for metastasis by preoperative PET/CT, metastatic lymph nodes were recognized in 19 sides in postoperative pathological diagnosis. Meanwhile, among 36 sides diagnosed as negative for metastasis by PET/CT, no metastatic lymph nodes were observed in 33 sides in postoperative pathological diagnosis. With the sensitivity at 86% and the specificity at 89%, PET/CT was considered useful in diagnosing cervical lymph node metastasis, however, attention needs to be paid to false-positive or false-negative cases.
