Related Experiment Videos
Perfusion CT for head and neck tumors: pilot study
Zoran Rumboldt1, Riyadh Al-Okaili, John P Deveikis
1Department of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
AJNR. American Journal of Neuroradiology
|May 14, 2005
Summary
Perfusion CT (CTP) after head and neck CT is feasible and reproducible for differentiating benign from malignant lesions. Mean transit time (MTT) is the most reliable metric for distinguishing these conditions.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Medical Imaging
- Oncology
Background:
- Distinguishing malignant from benign head and neck lesions on imaging is challenging, particularly in post-treatment cancer patients.
- Enhanced CT is standard, but differentiating lesion types remains difficult.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility and reproducibility of perfusion CT (CTP) following enhanced head and neck CT.
- To evaluate CTP's ability to differentiate benign from malignant head and neck processes.
Main Methods:
- CTP was performed on 17 patients post-contrast-enhanced head and neck CT.
- Deconvolution analysis generated perfusion maps (MTT, blood volume, blood flow, permeability surface product).
- Regions of interest were placed by two independent readers, with one repeating measurements for intrareader reliability.
Main Results:
- CTP was feasible in 13 of 17 patients; 12 completed the study.
- No significant interreader or intrareader variability was observed.
- Mean transit time (MTT) proved most effective for differentiating malignant from nonmalignant lesions.
Conclusions:
- CTP is feasible and reproducible for head and neck imaging, except potentially at the laryngeal level.
- The technique is reader-independent and reliable regardless of the arterial input vessel used.
- CTP, particularly MTT, shows significant promise for distinguishing benign and malignant head and neck processes.