[Computed tomography for the preoperative classification of oral cavity and oropharyngeal carcinomas]

CT scans of 40 patients with oral cavity or oropharyngeal carcinoma were compared with clinical tumour descriptions and operation and pathology reports in order to assess the role of CT scanning in the preoperative work-up and staging of oral and oropharyngeal carcinoma. Overall clinical staging was superior to radiological staging (73% vs 55% correct T stages). However, because of the additional information obtained from CT scans we would still recommend CT evaluation for most oral cavity and oropharyngeal carcinomas.