Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound, ¹⁸F-FDG-PET/CT, and fused ¹⁸F-FDG-PET-MR images with DWI for the detection of cervical lymph node metastases of HNSCC.

Objective: This study aimed to compare (18)F-fluorodesoxyglucose positron emission tomography/MRI ((18)F-FDG-PET-MRI) fusion images, including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), (18)F-FDG-PET/CT, and ultrasound (US) regarding their performance in nodal staging of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Materials And Methods: Eighteen patients prospectively underwent ultrasound examination, (18)F-FDG- PET/CT, and MRI before oral tumor resection and bilateral neck dissection. PET data sets were fused with contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MR images.