MRI and MSCT efficacy in assessment of the depth of invasion of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue

Purpose. To assess the efficacy of MRI and MSCT in measuring the depth of invasion of tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Materials and methods. A total of 53 patients (100%) with primary diagnosed and histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue were examined. All patients underwent contrast-enhanced MSCT and MRI. The correlation between the data obtained from MRI and MSCT and the clinical-histological data of SCC of the tongue was assessed in evaluating the depth of invasion.

Results. The results of MRI and MSCT in evaluating the depth of invasion of SCC of the tongue were analyzed for 53 patients, including 32 (60.4%) men and 21 (39.6%) women with a mean age of 52 ± 6 years. Contrast-enhanced MSCT showed a lesser depth of invasion compared to postoperative pathological examination (Me–9.7 mm and 10.5 mm, respectively, with an interquartile range (Q1–Q3) of 6.75–13 mm and 8.2–13.1 mm, respectively, p < 0.001), while MRI showed a greater depth of invasion compared to postoperative pathological examination (Me–11,9 mm and 10,5 mm, respectively, with an interquartile range (Q1–Q3) of 9.3–15.1 mm and 8.2–13.1 mm, respectively, p < 0.001). The correlation between the data from radiation methods and pathological examination was higher for MRI (r = 0.9749) compared to contrast-enhanced MSCT (r = 0.9341).

Discussion. A comparative analysis of the MSCT and MRI results revealed their significance in determining the depth of invasion of SCC of the tongue compared to postoperative histological examination data. Our study results demonstrated differences from those obtained by other authors, who primarily focused on contrast-enhanced MSCT as the preferred diagnostic method for this category of patients. Although the correlation coefficient for MSCT in our study was also high (r = 0.9341, p < 0.001), MRI showed higher diagnostic value in determining the extent of tumor spread (r = 0.9749, p < 0.001) compared to contrast-enhanced MSCT. MRI in evaluating the depth of invasion in SCC of the tongue demonstrated a higher result, complementing information about the extent of the tumor process and clarifying the stage of the disease, which is crucial for selecting the optimal treatment strategy.

Conclusion. Thus, in measuring the depth of invasion in SCC of the tongue, the sensitivity and specificity for MSCT were 85.7% and 90.9%, respectively, while for MRI, the sensitivity and specificity made up 93.3% and 88.9%, respectively, confirming the high efficacy of MRI in examination of the oropharyngeal area. 

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