MRI findings of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in patients presenting with ocular signs / 中华放射学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the MRI features of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in patients who presented with ocular abnormalities. Methods The clinical signs and MRI features of Ⅲ, Ⅳ and/or Ⅵ cranial nerve involvement in 22 cases of histologically proved nasopharyngeal carcinoma were retrospectively analyzed. Results All 22 cases showed perineural tumor spread along the course of Ⅲ, Ⅳ and Ⅵ cranial nerve. Diplopia was the most common sign, occurred in 14/22 patients. The incidence of incomplete palsy of Ⅲ, Ⅳ and Ⅵ cranial nerve were 16/44, 7/44 and 4/44, respectively. There were four types of abnormal MRI findings: cavernous sinus thickening (10/44) and mass ( 16/44), superior orbital fissure enlargement (4/44) and abnormal signals (9/44), thickened oculomotor muscles with obscured adjacent fatty space and abnormal enhancement (10/44). The dynamic contrast enhancement patterns of the masses in cavernous sinus and orbital were the same as that of nasopharynx lesions; all appeared as rapid initial enhancement followed by a plateau phase. Conclusion Oculomotor nerve involvement can be the first clinical signs of NPC, and MRI can show the perineural extension along the Ⅲ, Ⅳ and Ⅵ cranial nerve in NPC.