Lymph node pathology. Benign proliferative, lymphoma, and metastatic disease

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Oncology
• Head and Neck Imaging

Background:

• Cervical lymph node evaluation is a primary reason for neck CT and MR imaging.
• Imaging is used for unknown neck masses and, more commonly, for detecting metastasis from known mucosal malignancies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review CT and MR imaging characteristics of malignant and non-malignant cervical lymph node diseases.
• To discuss the differential diagnosis of nodal pathologies based on imaging findings.
• To describe a new imaging-based nodal classification for metastatic head and neck cancer.

Main Methods:

• Review of CT and MR imaging findings in cervical lymph node evaluation.
• Discussion of differential diagnoses for various nodal pathologies.
• Description of a recently proposed imaging-based nodal classification system.

Main Results:

• Detailed review of imaging characteristics for malignant and non-malignant nodal diseases.
• Discussion of differential diagnoses based on specific imaging findings.
• Introduction of a novel nodal classification for metastatic head and neck cancer.

Conclusions:

• CT and MR imaging are crucial for cervical lymph node assessment.
• Understanding imaging characteristics aids in differentiating benign from malignant nodes.
• The proposed classification system offers a standardized approach to metastatic nodal disease in head and neck cancer.