RESUMEN
Objective: To compare the diagnostic values of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), enhanced computed tomography (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET)-CT using 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) in detecting skull base invasion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and provide the evidence for differentiated diagnosis of the skull base invasion of NPC. Methods: The fifty seven patients were scanned by MRI, enhanced CT, and PET-CT. The three imaging examinations were finished within 20 days. The diagnosis standards were based on histopathologic findings or clinical and imaging follow-up results within 6 months. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the three scanning technologies were compared. Results: For detecting skull base invasion of NPC, the sensitivity of enhanced CT, MRI, and PET-CT were 68.18%, 84.09%, and 97.67%, respectively; the specificity were 76.92%, 69.23%, and 57.14%, respectively; the accuracy were 70.18%, 80.70%, and 87.72%, respectively; PPV were 90.90%, 90.24%, and 87.50%, respectively; NPV were 41.67%, 56.25%, and 88.89%, respectively. PET-CT was better than enhanced CT in sensitivity, accuracy, and NPV (P <0.05). It was also better than MRI in sensitivity and NPV (P <0.05). Conclusion: Among three imaging technologies,PET-CT has obvious advantage in detecting skull base invasion of NPC patients, especially for new patients.