LIMITATIONS OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN LARYNGEAL CARCINOMA DIAGNOSIS

Abstract

Specificity and sensitivity of computed tomography in diagnosis of primary laryngeal cancer, recurrence after surgery or radiation treatment vary depending on the location of the tumor and its growth pattern. Tumor CT signs suggested by radiologists have ambiguous interpretation due to the complex laryngeal anatomy and its relationship with the surrounding tissues. Our study included 31 patients with laryngeal cancer (9 women and 22 men aged 25 to 77 years) who were treated the ENT department of First Pavlov State Medical University of Saint Petersburg. 26 patients had primary tumor, 5 - recurrence after surgical treatment or chemoradiation. Patients’ CT scans were compared with intraoperative endoscopic and morphological findings. As a result, 8 out of 31 revealed a discrepancy between CT and operational findings and morphological study results. In 4 cases erroneous CT data was obtained in patients with primary tumors of the larynx (15,5%), and in 4 cases - with recurrent tumors (4 cases out of 5). Thus, spiral CT is mostly informative in diagnosis at late stages of laryngeal cancer in primary tumors, in recurrent tumors after surgery or radiation therapy its interpretation is difficult. In diagnosis of initial stages of laryngeal cancer laryngeal endoscopy showed superior sensitivity than CT-scan.