The diagnostic value of chest CT and MRI for lymph node metastasis of thoracic esophageal cancer / 中国辐射卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare the clinical value of chest CT and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis of thoracic esophageal cancer. Methods A retrospective analysis of 90 patients with thoracic esophageal cancer lymph node metastasis diagnosed and treated in our hospital from July 2015 to June 2019. All patients underwent chest CT and MRI scans after admission, and the lesion tissue samples were taken for pathological examination after surgery. Physical examination, with pathological diagnosis results as the gold standard, analyze the sensitivity and specificity of chest CT and MRI. Results The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of MRI scan was 88.73%, 94.74%, 98.44%, and 69.23%, respectively, which were higher than 69.01%, 52.63%, 84.48%, and 31.25% of the chest CT scan. In the distribution of lymph node metastasis, the middle of the thorax was the largest, and the proportions of the upper, middle, and lower thoraxes were 26.67%, 60.00%, and 13.33%, respectively. The uppermost mediastinal and paratracheal lymph nodes had the largest metastases in the upper thorax, the paratracheal and subcarinal lymph nodes in the middle thoracic segment had the most metastasis, and the next to the cardia and left gastric artery lymph nodes in the lower thorax had the largest metastases. The accuracy of MRI diagnosis is higher than that of chest CT. Conclusion Both chest CT and MRI can diagnose lymph node metastasis of thoracic esophageal cancer. The diagnostic value of MRI in diagnosing lymph node metastasis of thoracic esophageal cancer is better than chest CT. The diagnostic accuracy of MRI in each part of the lymph node is higher than that of chest CT, which can show the lymph nodes more clearly in transfer situation.