ArticleEuropean archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery2004
Positron emission tomography using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) in the clinically negative neck: is it likely to be superior?
Article in European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence-based guideline diagnosis, treatment, prevention and aftercare of oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma.German medical science : GMS e-journal · 2025Guideline
- Staging of untreated nasopharyngeal carcinoma with PET/CT: comparison with conventional imaging work-up.European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2009Trial
- When Neck Dissection is Not Indicated in the Treatment of the Clinically Node-Negative Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Oncology and therapy · 2025Article
- Comparing the Efficacy of CT, MRI, PET-CT, and US in the Detection of Cervical Lymph Node Metastases in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma with Clinically Negative Neck Lymph Node: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- A Pilot Study: N-Staging Assessment of Shear Wave Elastrography in Small Cervical Lymph Nodes for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.Frontiers in oncology · 2020Article
- Sentinel lymph node biopsy in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: current status and unresolved challenges.European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2015Review
- The potential of FDG-PET in the detection of occult lymph node metastasis: importance of patient selection and reference standard.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2013Article
- The role of positron emission tomography with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose in nodal staging of clinical and radiological N₀ head and neck cancers.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2013Article
- Comparison of PET/CT with conventional imaging modalities (USG, CECT) in evaluation of N0 neck in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Medical journal, Armed Forces India · 2012Article
- Contemporary management of cancer of the oral cavity.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2010Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The capability of modern imaging techniques such as CT, MRI, US and US-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology (USgFNAC) to detect small tumour deposits is limited. Therefore, the detection of occult metastases in the clinically negative neck remains a diagnostic problem. One of the novel options to refine staging of head and neck cancer is [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). To evaluate the diagnostic value of FDG-PET in the detection of occult malignant lymph nodes, we compared the results of FDG-PET with other diagnostic techniques and the histopathological outcome of 15 neck dissection specimens from 15 head and neck cancer patients with a clinically negative neck. Three sides contained metastases of squamous cell carcinoma. FDG-PET enabled detection of metastases in two sides, which were also detected by MRI or USgFNAC. FDG-PET and CT missed metastases in one patient, which were detected by both MRI and USgFNAC. In studies with a detailed examination of lymph nodes of a neck dissection, a low sensitivity of FDG-PET for the detection of occult lymph node metastases is found. It is unlikely that FDG-PET is superior in the detection of occult lymph node metastases in head and neck cancer patients with a palpably negative neck. The histopathological method used seems to be the most important factor for the differences in sensitivity in reported FDG-PET studies. New approaches such as the use of monoclonal antibodies labelled with a positron emitter may improve the results of PET in these patients.
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