Open AccessTranscervical Ultrasonography Is Feasible to Visualize and Evaluate Base of Tongue Cancers
Author(s) -
Ray Blanco,
Joseph A. Califano,
Barbara Messing,
Jeremy D. Richmon,
Jia Liu,
Harry Quon,
Geoffrey Neuner,
John R. Saunders,
Patrick K. Ha,
Sheila Sheth,
Maura L. Gillison,
Carole Fakhry
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0087565
Subject(s) - malignancy , ultrasound , tongue , medicine , radiology , ultrasonography , tongue neoplasm , pathology
Background Base of tongue (BOT) is a difficult subsite to examine clinically and radiographically. Yet, anatomic delineation of the primary tumor site, its extension to adjacent sites or across midline, and endophytic vs. exophytic extent are important characteristics for staging and treatment planning. We hypothesized that ultrasound could be used to visualize and describe BOT tumors. Methods Transcervical ultrasound was performed using a standardized protocol in cases and controls. Cases had suspected or confirmed BOT malignancy. Controls were healthy individuals without known malignancy. Results 100% of BOT tumors were visualized. On ultrasound BOT tumors were hypoechoic (90.9%) with irregular margins (95.5%). Ultrasound could be used to characterize adjacent site involvement, midline extent, and endophytic extent, and visualize the lingual artery. No tumors were suspected for controls. Conclusions Ultrasonography can be used to transcervically visualize BOT tumors and provides clinically relevant characteristics that may not otherwise be appreciable.