[Tumors of the oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx--diagnosis with magnetic resonance imaging]

Abstract

312 patients with neoplasms of the oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx--301 of these suffered from malignancies--were examined with use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and--in most cases--with computed tomography (CT) for comparison. MRI yielded better results than CT in the case of oropharyngeal tumors. With regard to hypopharyngeal tumors, however, slight discrepancies in the diagnostic capacities of both methods were observed. MRI afforded a clearer tumor definition through sagittal and coronal slice orientations. In the case of laryngeal neoplasms in the glottic region, CT is currently superior to MRI. This could change in the future as a result of improvement in signal behavior of the 2D gradient echo (2D GE) sequences and of the use of phonation studies (Turbo-FLASH). MRI, on the other hand, is superior to CT in the definition of sub-, supra- and panglottic tumors.