Correlation between MDCT and Postoperative Histopathology in the Staging of Laryngeal Carcinoma

Abstract Background The advantages and disadvantages of CT and MRI in the pre-operative assessment of laryngeal carcinoma still need to be further studied. Multidetector CT is the first line imaging investigation for staging laryngeal carcinoma. Evaluation of laryngeal SCC requires a contrast CT study of the neck. Excellent images of the neck are obtained using a multidectector CT (MDCT) following the injection of an iodinated contrast agent. Aim of the Work To assess the accuracy of preoperative CT staging of laryngeal tumours, and to measure its specificity for cartilage invasion, by comparing imaging with histologic cross-sections of surgical specimens and to clarify impact of these diagnostic modalities on pretherapeutic staging of laryngeal carcinoma. Patients and Methods Our study is a prospective study consisting of 30 patients with laryngeal carcinoma all underwent surgical treatment at Otorhinolaryngology department of Faculty of medicine, Ain Shams University. Results In our study CT showed highest accuracy in preepiglottic space, paraglottic space and Aryepiglottic fold lesions (96.7%), and was least accurate in cartilage invasion (73.4%). In our study the T stage was correctly determined by CT scan in 26 out of 30 cases. The consistency between perceived T stage by CT and histopathological analysis was highest for T3 (63.3%). Conclusion Contrast enhanced CT scan of the neck remains a precise and non-invasive imaging method for the staging of laryngeal carcinoma with high accuracy.