Abstract
Objective: To clarify the correlation between the morphological CT pattern and histopathologic features in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the head and neck region.
Study Design: CT images of 15 patients with ACC in the head and neck region were evaluated concerning the morphological tumor-growth pattern. The growth pattern of ACC on the CT was classified into a well-defined massive (M) type and a diffuse invasive (I) type. Positive tumor cells at the surgical margin, a neural invasion, and a vascular invasion were assessed with a hematoxylin-eosin stained preparation of the surgical specimen. The histopathologic subtype was classified into the tubular, the cribriform, and the solid type. The relationship between the CT pattern and the histopathologic features was analyzed.
Results: The M type was predominant in the cribriform type, but in contrast, the I type was predominant in the solid type. However, the tubular type was dominant in both the M type and the I type, and thus, there was no definite association between the CT pattern and histopathologic subtype. There was no definite association between the CT pattern and the outcome.
Conclusion: There was no definite association between the morphological tumor-growth CT pattern and histopathologic features in ACC of the head and neck region. Both the M type and the I type based on the CT frequently showed infiltrations into the surrounding parenchymal tissue beyond the field that was predicted as the tumor extent based on the CT.
