Abstract
Objective: To investigate sonographic findings of nodes for the early diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma recurrence. Methods: We focused on 57 nodes from five cases showing recurrence or aggravation and 125 nodes from 18 cases with complete remission (CR nodes) whose course could be followed from pretherapy. We evaluated the following eight parameters: 1. length, 2. width, 3. thickness, 4. thickness/length ratio, 5. clarity of border, 6. echo level, 7. wide hilus, and 8. blood flow. We analyzed those parameters using multivariate logistic regression analysis (MLRA). The size (1 - 3) of the CR nodes was divided into two groups according to whether they measured≥or⟨mean (M)+1 standard deviation (SD). Results: The length of CR nodes was 11.7±3.9 mm. The width and the thickness were divided into an upper cervical group or a caudal to middle cervical group for comparison by unpaired T test (P⟨0.01). The M+1SD of width and thickness in the upper cervical group was 11 mm and 6 mm, respectively. The respective values at the other sites were 9 mm and 4 mm. According to MLRA, width≥M+1SD (P⟨0.001) and thickness≥M+1SD (P⟨0.005) were significant. Conclusion: CR node size was calculated by ultrasonography. The width was suggested to be the most important finding. The useful combination was thickness and width.
