Source: www.drbicuspid.com
Author: DrBicuspid Staff

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could play an important role in the diagnosis of oral cancer, according to a study in Brazilian Oral Researcher (December 2011, Vol. 25:6, pp. 512-518).

Researchers from the University Center of Anapolis School of Dentistry compared clinical staging and MRI staging for oral cancer in 10 patients diagnosed with oral cancer. A head and neck surgeon performed standard TNM staging, while two medical radiologists and two oral radiologists performed a new staging assessment by interpreting MRI studies, without prior knowledge of the clinical staging. Each evaluated the extent of the primary tumor (T), metastasis to regional lymph nodes (N), and grouping by stages.

There was significant agreement (p < 0.05) between the clinical and MRI staging assessments made by one oral radiologist for N stage and between those made by one medical radiologist for the T and N stages and for the grouping by stages, the researchers reported. In the MRI assessment, there was significant agreement among all four observers for both T stage and grouping by stages. For the N stage, there was no significant agreement between one oral radiologist and one medical radiologist or between the medical radiologists, but there was significant agreement among the remaining radiologists. "These results indicate the importance of using MRI for the diagnosis of oral cancer," the study authors wrote. "Training initiatives and calibration of medical and oral radiologists should be promoted to provide an improved multidisciplinary approach to oral cancer."