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Evaluation of optical coherence tomography to discriminate lesions of the upper aerodigestive tract
Author(s) -
Volgger Veronika,
Stepp Herbert,
Ihrler Stephan,
Kraft Marcel,
Leunig Andreas,
Patel Parag M.,
Susarla Malavika,
Jackson Kathleen,
Betz Christian S.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.23189
Subject(s) - medicine , optical coherence tomography , significant difference , radiology , head and neck , nuclear medicine , pathology , surgery
Background This study evaluated the capability of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to differentiate premalignant and early malignant lesions of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT). Methods An OCT screening was performed in 52 healthy volunteers. Epithelial thicknesses on 38 OCT images and histopathological slides were correlated. One hundred primary lesions were rated via OCT concerning invasiveness by an “unblinded” investigator, then biopsied, and the results correlated. All OCT images were evaluated by 3 “blinded” investigators. Forty‐eight images underwent retrospective image analysis. Results Screening showed large differences concerning epithelial thicknesses, but good correlation (κ = 0.63) between OCT and histopathological slides. In the unblinded evaluation, noninvasive and invasive lesions could be distinguished with a sensitivity of 88.9% and specificity of 89.0% whereas the blinded evaluations led to sensitivities of 100%, 66.7%, and 77.8% and specificities of 75.8%, 71.4%, and 70.3%. The difference of mean intraepithelial intensity reductions in dysplasias (38.7%) and hyperplasias (18.9%) was statistically significant. Conclusion OCT complements visual inspection for differentiating UADT‐lesions. Head Neck , 35 : 1558–1566, 2013