[The evaluation of cervical lymph node metastasis of laryngeal cancer using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the potential or limitation of MRI for demonstrating the pathological cervical lymphnodes. METHOD: A prospective diagnostic study on cervical lymphnode metastasis from laryngeal carcinoma was performed for 19 cases undergone neck dissection (5 cases undergone bilateral neck dissection, 24 specimens of neck dissection were collected in total). With pathological findings as the criterion, sensitivity and specificity and accuracy were calculated for palpation and MRI examination of all patients. RESULT: MRI had obviously higher sensitivity specificity and accuracy than palpation. Besides the changes in size and shape of the metastatic lymphnodes, the intensity of MRI inside the metastatic lymphnodes was showed as mixed hypo-isointensity in T1WI and hyper intensity in T2WI. CONCLUSION: MRI examination was accurate in detecting cervical lymphnode metastasis and could image occult lymphnodes which are inaccessible on palpation. Thus, MRI will probably play an important role in the evaluation of malignant lymphnode metastasis.