[Results of nuclear spin tomography of facial bone tumors]

We examined 21 patients with tumours of the mouth, one with tumour involvement of the facial skeleton and three with lymph node involvement in the upper neck, by nuclear tomography. Twenty patients with carcinomas of the mouth were also examined by CT. Nuclear tomography was superior to CT in showing the extent of the tumour; in ten patients the extent of the tumour could not be accurately determined, since there was no clear demarcation from normal tissue. Amongst our patients, nuclear tomography was also superior for showing lymph node metastases. Computed tomography is better at showing bone infiltration. Our results indicate that nuclear tomography is better than CT for showing the tumour and lymph nodes. If there is a suspicion of bone involvement, CT should be used in addition.