Perfusion computed tomography in the diagnosis of tongue cancer

Objective: To determine the role of perfusion computed tomography scanning (PCT) in tongue cancer diagnostics. Introduction: Squamous cell carcinoma located in the oral cavity and tongue is a common disease and maintains a leading positions. CT has been the main diagnostic tool in the staging of the tumor and in monitoring the response to the therapy due to its relatively low cost, a wide range of pathological conditions studied, the possibility of standardization of protocols and availability to the public. Materials and Methods: Perfusion CT was performed in 20 patients with a diagnosis of tongue cancer of different localization. Of these, 75% (n=15) were men, 25% (n=5) women. That group of patients was not subjected to surgical treatment and had not received a course of radiation or chemotherapy. Areas of tissues perfusion evaluation were selected on the basis of a previously conducted full CT study with intravenous contrast. CT perfusion is a functional imaging technique and was used to assess the degree of vascularization and permeability of tissues. Results: In 80% (n=14) of patients the cancer was localized on the lateral surface of the tongue, and in 20% (n=6) it was located in its posterior third. After the data processing, we obtained the following values of parameters: blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT), permeability (PS). The perfusion indices for a region of tumor infiltration were as follows: BV -17,30±of 8.37 ml/100g, BF - 147,63±51,95 ml/100g/min, MTT - 11,62±3,95 sec, PS -19.79±12,18 ml/100g/min. The perfusion rates on the unchanged contralateral side of tongue were: BV - 3.11±2,75 ml/100g, BF - 33,29±31,51 ml/100g/min, MTT - 10,58±11,73 sec, PS -8.32±7,76 ml/100g/min. Conclusions: On the basis of increasing levels of perfusion parameters of blood flow, blood volume and permeability it is possible to differentiate tumor tissue from healthy unaltered tissue. We did not detect significant difference between the tumor and normal tissue in the parameter of mean blood transit time.