3 Imaging Techniques
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Imaging Techniques 31 3 Imaging Techniques Robert Hermans, Frederik De Keyzer, and Vincent Vandecaveye CONTENTS neck cancer patient, and to provide general rules for their use. Specialized imaging applications are de- 31 3.1 Introduction scribed in the following chapters where appropriate. 3.2 Plain Radiography 31 3.3 Ultrasonography 31 3.4 Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging 32 3.4.1 Computed Tomography 32 3.2 3.4.1.1 Patient Positioning 32 Plain Radiography 3.4.1.2 Contrast Agent Injection 33 3.4.1.3 Data Acquisition and Image Reconstruction 35 3.4.1.4 Dynamic Maneuvers 36 In the past, a variety of conventional methods were 3.4.1.5 Three-Dimensional Image Reformatting 37 applied to stage head and neck cancer, including soft 3.4.2 Magnetic Resonance Imaging 38 tissue views of the neck, plain fi lms of the facial skel- 39 3.4.2.1 Patient Positioning eton, xeroradiography, plain fi lm tomography, laryn- 3.4.2.2 Coils 39 3.4.2.3 Standard Sequences 39 gography and barium swallow. The value of these 3.4.2.4 Contrast Agents 40 studies to stage head and neck cancer is very limited; 3.4.2.5 Additional MRI Techniques 40 these techniques are now replaced by cross-section- 3.5 Nuclear Imaging 42 ing imaging modalities. 42 References Plain radiography is still widely used in radio- therapy planning (see Chap. 18). Barium swallow remains an indispensable method in the early phase 3.1 after pharyngeal surgery, to rule out or confi rm the Introduction presence of fi stulae. This technique is also essential in the evaluation of functional disorders (such as bolus Various imaging techniques are used in the evaluation retention, delayed passage and aspiration) after sur- of patients with head and neck cancer, before, during gery or radiotherapy. and after treatment. Each of these imaging techniques has its own advantages and disadvantages. Many head and neck neoplasms arise from the mu- cosal lining; when a patient is referred for imaging, the 3.3 histological diagnosis often was already established Ultrasonography by endoscopic biopsy. Therefore, imaging should pri- marily supply information on the submucosal exten- Ultrasonography is a widely used technique for the sion depth of the primary tumor, including its relation evaluation of the thyroid gland (see Chap. 14), neck to surrounding structures, as well as on the presence lymph nodes (see Chap. 15) and salivary glands, as of regional and/or distant metastasis. it offers visualization of these structures with high The purpose of this chapter is to describe the vari- spatial resolution, at a low cost and without using ous techniques available for imaging the head and ionizing radiation. Ultrasonography in combination with fi ne nee- R. Hermans, MD, PhD dle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is the most accurate Professor, Department of Radiology, University Hospitals method for neck nodal staging in most head and Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium an den Brekel F. De Keyzer, MSc; V. Vandecaveye, MD neck cancers (v et al. 1991). However, Department of Radiology, University Hospitals Leuven, execution of this procedure is time consuming, and Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium the obtained results are operator dependent (Takes 32 R. Hermans et al. et al. 1996). Also, in a multicenter study where both making the technique sensible to motion artifacts computed tomography and ultrasound of the neck which cause a non-diagnostic study (Fig. 3.3). It is were applied for staging of head and neck cancer, the also somewhat more diffi cult with MRI to properly addition of ultrasound guided FNAC did not provide stage both primary tumor and neck nodal disease in signifi cant additional value (Takes et al. 1998). a single study. The lower availability of MRI, resulting in a longer waiting list, and its higher cost should also be taken into consideration. In many institutions, CT is the preferred imaging 3.4 method for evaluation of laryngeal and hypopha- Computed Tomography and Magnetic ryngeal cancer, as well as of oral cavity and oropha- Resonance Imaging ryngeal cancer. These cancer sites constitute about 80%–85% of all head and neck malignancies (exclud- Nowadays, in most patients computed tomography ing skin cancer and lymphoma) in Europe and the (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is per- USA. In most cases, a dedicated CT study will provide formed for pretherapeutic staging of a head and neck all answers needed by the clinician; in such a setting, malignancy. Both techniques can supply the informa- MRI is used as a complementary tool to solve remain- tion needed by the clinician for adequate treatment ing questions. planning. Because of its higher contrast resolution, MRI is A common question is which of these techniques the preferred imaging method in rarer head and neck should be used in a particular patient. The most malignancies, such as nasopharyngeal cancer and si- widely used technique is CT, as it has a number of nonasal cancer. There is no consensus regarding the important advantages over MRI: use of CT or MRI as primary imaging tool in salivary • Wide availability gland cancer, although there is a tendency among • Relative low cost head and neck radiologists to choose MRI. • Easy to execute, and this in a reproducible way • Short examination time, resulting in less image quality degradation caused by motion, such as 3.4.1 swallowing and respiration Computed Tomography • Superior bone detail • High quality multiplanar imaging on multidetec- CT can be regarded as the ‘workhorse’ of head and tor CT systems neck cancer imaging. It is not possible to defi ne the • Easy extension of the study into the upper tho- ideal imaging protocol, as available equipment varies. racic cavity or intracranial cavity, if needed The minimal requirements for an optimal diagnostic • Easier interpretation, especially regarding nodal study will be outlined. involvement (Curtin et al. 1998) 3.4.1.1 However, CT also has a number of disadvantages Patient Positioning compared to MRI: • Relative low soft tissue contrast resolution The images are obtained with the patient supine and • Administration of iodinated contrast agent is nec- during quiet respiration. The neck should be in slight essary extension. The head is aligned in the cephalocaudal • Severe image quality degradation by dental fi llings axis in order to make it possible to compare symmet- or other metallic foreign objects (Fig. 3.1) ric structures. Malposition may result in an appear- • Radiation exposure ance that simulates disease. Every effort should be made to make the patient feel comfortable; this will The advantages of MRI over CT in the evaluation help the patient dropping the shoulders to a position of head and neck cancer are its superior soft tissue as low as possible. contrast resolution, and the absence of radiation ex- This patient-friendly position is applicable for posure. Overall, the image quality is not or less ham- all indications if multidetector spiral CT (MDCT) pered by the presence of dental fi llings than in CT, is used, as this modality allows retrospective high but also MRI studies may be severely jeopardized quality reformatting in every spatial plane. In case by metallic implants (Fig. 3.2). The disadvantages of an incremental or single spiral CT technique has to MRI are mainly related to the long acquisition time, be used, additional direct coronal imaging is needed Imaging Techniques 33 a b Fig. 3.1a,b. Patient suffering left-sided oral tongue cancer. a Axial contrast-enhanced CT image. As the image quality is severely ham- pered by artifacts arising from dental fi llings, the primary tumor is not visible. A complementary MR study was advised. b Gadolinium- enhanced T1-weighted image, not affected by presence of dental fi llings, clearly shows the primary tumor (arrowhead) a b Fig. 3.2a,b. Patient referred for MR study of the maxillofacial region and skull base because of unilateral facial pain. a Initial MR study was inconclusive, as artifacts caused by fi xed orthodontic material severely degrade image quality. b After removal of the orthodontic material by the dentist, optimal image quality was achieved in the evaluation of sinonasal and skull base neo- 3.4.1.2 plasms. This can be realized by hyperextension of Contrast Agent Injection the neck, either in supine or prone position, and tilting the gantry to a position perpendicular to the While evaluating a patient suffering head and neck hard palate. cancer, a proper injection method of iodinated con- 34 R. Hermans et al. a b Fig. 3.3a–c. Patient suffering tongue base cancer. a,b Axial and sagittal reformatted contrast-enhanced MDCT images clearly show tumor extent into tongue base and involvement of free epiglottic rim (arrowheads), as well as the relationship of the tumor to the pre-epiglottic space (asterisk). c For study pur- poses, an MR study was performed in this patient 1 day later. Because of motion artifacts, the tumor is not confi dently dis- c cernible. This MR study was considered non-diagnostic trast agent is crucial to obtain state of the art CT im- A total amount of 100 ml is suffi cient in MDCT; a ages. Optimal tissue enhancement, allowing correct somewhat higher volume (up to 150 ml) may be re- discrimination of tumoral from normal tissue, and quired when an incremental or single slice spiral CT a high neck vessel density must be realized at the technique is used. same time. Several contrast agent injection proto- It is essential to wait 60 s before starting the ac- cols have been described, some of them being fairly quisition, as the contrast agents needs some time to complicated. For all practical purposes, a single bolus diffuse in the normal and pathologic soft tissues.