Diagnostic accuracy of 18F-FDG in nodal negative oral squamous cell carcinoma

ABSTRACT

PET is one of the most widely used verification methods for evaluation of metastasis on the lymph nodes of the neck in oral cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between PET findings and histopathologic findings in patients who had been diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma and performed neck dissection. Thirty-four necks in 25 patients had been evaluated on pathologic lymph nodes and the data were compared with preoperative PET scan. The sensitivity of PET at the level of the neck was 72.7percent, specificity was 60percent, and accuracy was 79.2percent. Since FDG-PET show high false-positive results, it should be used with other diagnostic tools for evaluation of lymph node metastasis.