Abstract
Dynamic enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 40 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue was performed to investigate the correlation between the margin of the surrounding tongue musculature and clinico-histopathological features. T1 weighted spin echo sequence (TR/TE = 200/20) coronal plane images were obtained. The signal intensity of the operator-defined region of interest (ROI) was measured and the signal enhancement to noise ratio (SE / N) calculated. Slices taken at the time of maximum SE/N were used for evaluation (both clear and unclear types) . T stage, growth pattern, pattern and stage of invasion, and lympho-plasmocytic infiltration were correlated to the marginal appearance on enhanced MRI. The results were as follows
1. There were more cases of unclear type than clear type tumor.
2. Clinically, endophytic tumors tended to show an unclear marginal appearance compared to that of exophytic and superficial tumors on enhanced MRI.
3. Histopathologically, the pattern of invasion had a significant correlation to marginal appearance on enhanced MRI (P<0.01) .
The results of our study suggested that marginal appearance on enhanced MRI could be an important factor for defining the area of tumor infiltration.
