Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x24gv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-01T03:53:14.630Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Radiological staging of the chest and abdomen in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma – are computed tomography and ultrasound necessary?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

E. L. K. Nilssen ,
P. Murthy ,
L. McClymont  and
S. Denholm
E. L. K. Nilssen*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery,Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, UK.
P. Murthy
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery,Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, UK.
L. McClymont
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery,Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, UK.
S. Denholm
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery,Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: E. L. K. Nilssen, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. Ninewells Hospital, Dundee DD1 9SY.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The need for, and choice of, radiological staging investigations for distant metastases in the management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is a contentious issue. To address this problem a retrospective audit of routine computerized tomography (CT) and ultrasound scanning of the chest and abdomen respectively was undertaken. The records of 103 patients who, over a six and a half year period, underwent major surgery for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma were reviewed. A total of 57 patients (59 per cent) had CT scanning of the chest of whom two were identified as having synchronous tumours. In both cases, the lesions were identified on chest X-ray prior to scanning. Seventy patients (68 per cent) had routine ultrasound scanning of the abdomen. In none of these was metastatic disease identified. As a result of the audit findings routine CT and ultrasound scanning of the chest and abdomen has been discontinued.

Keywords

Neoplasm stagingCarcinoma, squamous cellRadiology
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 113 , Issue 2 , February 1999 , pp. 152 - 154
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Calhoun, K. H., Fulmer, P., Weiss, R., Hokanson, J. A. (1994) Distant metastases from head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Laryngoscope 104(10): 1199–1205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Brauw, L. M., van de Velde, C. J., Pauwels, E. K., Bbok, R., Bloem, J. L., Aatrs, J. C., Hermans, J. (1991) Hepatic metastases: comparative study of diagnostic ultrasound, CT, nuclear scintigraphy and laboratory tests. Netherlands Journal of Surgery 43(4): 92–94.Google ScholarPubMed
Drost, P., Schrader, M., Talanow, D. (1994) Value of abdominal ultrasound and skeletal scintigraphy in TNM classification of tumours in the head and neck area. [Article in German] HNO 42(7): 418–421.Google Scholar
Felix, E. L., Bagley, D. H., Sindelar, W. F., Johnston, G. S., Ketcham, A. S. (1976) The value of the liver scan in the preoperative screening of patients with malignancies. Cancer 38(3): 1137–1141.3.0.CO;2-9>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fernandez, E. B., Colon, E., McLeod, D. G., Moul, J. W. (1994) Efficacy of radiographic chest imaging in patients with testicular cancer. Urology 44(2): 243–248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hordjick, G. J., De Jong, J. M. (1983) Synchronous and metachranous tumours in patients with head and neck cancer. Journal of Laryngology and Otology 97: 619–621.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Libshitz, H. I., North, L. B. (1982) Metastatic disease: Pulmonary metastases. Radiological Clinics of North America 20( 3): 437–451.Google ScholarPubMed
Milla, N., Ito, K., Ikeda, M., Nakamura, K., Hirose, M., Ishigaki, T. (1994) Fundamental and clinical evaluation of chest tomography imaging in detectability of pulmonary nodules. Nagoya Journal of Medical Science 57(3–4): 127–132.Google Scholar
Miller, W. J., Baron, R. L., Dodd, G. D. IIIrd, Federle, M. P. (1994) Malignancies in patients with cirrhosis: CT sensitivity and specificity in 200 consecutive transplant patients. Radiology 193(3): 645–650.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shingaki, S., Suzuki, I., Kobayashi, T., Nakajima, T. (1996) Predicting factors for distant metastases in head and neck carcinomas: an analysis of 103 patients with locoregional control. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 54(7): 853–857.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spouge, A. R., Wilson, S. R., Wooley, B. (1996) Abdominal sonography in asymptomatic executives: prevalence of pathological findings, potential benefits, and problems. Journal of Ultrasound Medicine 15(11): 763–767.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Talmi, Y. P., Cotlear, D., Waller, W., Horowitz, Z., Adunski, A., Roth, Y., Kronenberg, J. (1997) Distant metastases in terminal head and neck cancer patients. Journal of Laryngology and Otology 111: 454–458.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Troell, R. J., Terris, D. J. (1995) Detection of metastases from head and neck cancers. Laryngoscope 105(3 Pt 1): 247–250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wittes, R. E. (1991) Manual of Oncology Therapeutics. J.B. Lippincott Company pp 35–46.Google Scholar