Cervical Vertebrae ; Humans ; Neck/diagnostic imaging* ; Neck Pain/etiology*

Cervical nodal metastases are common in patients with head and neck cancers. Early assessment is important for treatment planning and prognosis. Ultrasound has been widely used in the evaluation of neck lymph nodes, with common parameters including location, size, shape, boundary, hilus, echogenicity, vascular pattern, and resistance index. The diagnostic accuracy has been dramatically improved along with the introduction of new techniques including contrast-enhanced ultrasound, elastography, and ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy. Neck ultrasound has became an important tool in preoperative assessment and postoperative follow-up for patients with head and neck cancers.
Head and Neck Neoplasms ; pathology ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Neck ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Ultrasonography

Head and neck cancers become a severe threat to human's health nowadays and represent the sixth most common cancer worldwide. Surgery remains the first-line choice for head and neck cancer patients. Limited resectable tissue mass and complicated anatomy structures in the head and neck region put the surgeons in a dilemma between the extensive resection and a better quality of life for the patients. Early diagnosis and treatment of the pre-malignancies, as well as real-time in vivo detection of surgical margins during en bloc resection, could be leveraged to minimize the resection of normal tissues. With the understanding of the head and neck oncology, recent advances in optical hardware and reagents have provided unique opportunities for real-time pre-malignancies and cancer imaging in the clinic or operating room. Optical imaging in the head and neck has been reported using autofluorescence imaging, targeted fluorescence imaging, high-resolution microendoscopy, narrow band imaging and the Raman spectroscopy. In this study, we reviewed the basic theories and clinical applications of optical imaging for the diagnosis and treatment in the field of head and neck oncology with the goal of identifying limitations and facilitating future advancements in the field.
Forecasting ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Optical Imaging ; methods

OBJECTIVEUsing radioactive nano tracer with different sizes (average diameter were 50, 80 and 100 nm) and dosages (0.01 and 0.02 ml) in the thyroids of rabbits, to study the drainage of thyroid to cervical lymph nodes (LNs) in rabbits and to provide experimental evidence for the choice of ideal sizes and dosages of radioactive Nano tracer for the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in thyroid cancer patients.

METHODSThirty adult rabbits were randomly divided into six groups (50 nm - 0.01 ml, 50 nm - 0.02 ml, 80 nm - 0.01 ml, 80 nm - 0.02 ml, 100 nm - 0.01 ml, 100 nm - 0.02 ml of (99m)Tc-Sb(2)S(3)) with five rabbits in each group. A total of 60 sides of thyroids were included. The mean number of LNs with radioactivity, the initial, the strangest and the lasting time of radioactivity in LNs in each group were measured.

RESULTSOne to three LNs were identified in one side neck of rabbits, totally 86 LNs. Most of LNs with radioactivity existed in level VI, counting for 75.6% (65/86). (99m)Tc-Sb(2)S(3) with 50 nm particles was significantly better than that with 80 nm or 100 nm particles with regarding the initial and the strangest radioactive time of (99m)Tc-Sb(2)S(3) in LNs (P < 0.05). There were no significant difference in the mean number of LNs with radioactivity, the initial, the strangest and the lasting time of radioactivity between the dosages of 0.01 ml and 0.02 ml of (99m)Tc-Sb(2)S(3) with same size of particles (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION(99m)Tc-Sb(2)S(3) with 50 nm particles, in the dosage of 0.01 ml or 0.02 ml, could be good choice for SLNB of thyroid cancer.

Animals ; Lymph Nodes ; diagnostic imaging ; Male ; Nanostructures ; Neck ; diagnostic imaging ; Rabbits ; Radioactive Tracers ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Thyroid Gland ; diagnostic imaging

Diagnostic Errors ; Female ; Femoral Neck Fractures ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Femur Neck ; diagnostic imaging ; injuries ; Humans ; Radiography ; Young Adult

Adult ; Choristoma ; diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Thymoma ; diagnostic imaging ; Tomography, Spiral Computed

Head and Neck Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Humans ; Molecular Imaging ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck

Branchioma ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Contrast Media ; administration & dosage ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Humans ; Radiography

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility of differentiation of lymphoma, metastatic lymph nodes of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) in the head and neck by single-source dual-energy spectral CT.

METHODS25 cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with 236 lymph nodes, 3 cases of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) with 32 lymph nodes, 21 cases of SCC with 86 lymph nodes and 19 cases of PTC with 92 lymph nodes were evaluated by enhanced GSI. CT attenuation of lymph nodes in the monochromatic images at different keV levels and the iodine and water contents of these lymph nodes were measured. The slope of spectral curve was calculated using CT value at 40 keVand 90 keV. All results were analyzed with ANOVA and t test.

RESULTS70 keV had the best single energy images. Normalized Hounsfield unit (NHU) of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), T lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL), HL, PTC and SCC was 0.32 ± 0.10, 0.46 ± 0.08, 0.41 ± 0.11, 0.41 ± 0.11, 0.56 ± 0.15 and 0.34 ± 0.16, respectively. Normalized iodine concentration (NIC) of them was 0.20 ± 0.08, 0.32 ± 0.08, 0.25 ± 0.09, 0.30 ± 0.12, 0.49 ± 0.18 and 0.23 ± 0.18, respectively. The slope of spectral curve (k) of them was -1.92 ± 0.55, -2.45 ± 0.60, -1.82 ± 0.57, -2.57 ± 0.54, -5.44 ± 2.41 and -1.97 ± 0.81, respectively. Compared with the NHU, there was a statistically significant difference in each pair except DLBCL and SCC, and T-LBL and HL. Compared with the NIC, there was a statistically significant difference in each pair except DLBCL and SCC, FL and HL, T-LBL and SCC, and T-LBL and HL. Compared with the slope of spectral curve, there was statistically significant difference in each pair except DLBCL and T-LBL, DLBCL and SCC, FL and HL, and T-LBL and SCC.

CONCLUSIONSMalignant lymph nodes of different types of diseases have certain different values of quantitative parameters in spectral CT imaging. By using CT attenuation, the shape and slope of spectral curve and the iodine content, single-source dual-energy CT may potentially provide a quantitative analysis tool for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of lymph node alterations.

Carcinoma ; diagnostic imaging ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; diagnostic imaging ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; Hodgkin Disease ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; diagnostic imaging ; Lymphoma ; diagnostic imaging ; Lymphoma, Follicular ; diagnostic imaging ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; diagnostic imaging ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; diagnostic imaging ; Neck ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Humans ; Joint Dislocations/diagnostic imaging* ; Neck Injuries ; Disability Evaluation