Incidental uptake of fluorodeoxyglucose in the Waldeyer's ring and risk of oropharyngeal malignancy.
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol
; 279(5): 2657-2664, 2022 May.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34570264
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is increasingly used to diagnose and stage malignancy. The aim of this article is to investigate the significance of incidental FDG uptake in the Waldeyer's ring and to assess its value in predicting clinically occult oropharyngeal malignancy.METHODS:
All FDG-PET/CT scans performed in Imperial College NHS Foundation Trust, UK between January 2012 and November 2018 were included. Patients with known or suspected oropharyngeal malignancy or lymphoma were excluded. Minimum follow-up was 12 months.RESULTS:
A total of 724 scans revealed oropharyngeal uptake of FDG. Of these, 102 were included in the study. Most patients (62.1%) were scanned as part of staging for other malignancies. Oropharyngeal FDG uptake was asymmetrical in 57.3% of the cases. Uptake was more common in the tonsils (56.3%), followed by the tongue base (31.1%) and both sites (12.6%). In 41.7% of reports, appearance was described as likely physiological; however, 52.4% of reports advised direct visualisation, clinical correlation or ENT opinion. Only 24.3% (25/102) of patients were referred and seen by ENT, 14.6% (15/102) of which had an interval PET scan and 8.7% (9/102) proceeded to tissue diagnosis. There was one oropharyngeal cancer identified and one unexpected metastasis from esophageal cancer.CONCLUSION:
Incidental uptake on PET/CT in the oropharynx is common. However, malignancy is rare (1.9%) and, when present, is associated with high SUVmax and asymmetrical uptake. Imaging results must be correlated clinically. These patients should be seen by an ENT specialist yet most may not require further investigations.Key words
Full text:
1
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Neoplasms, Unknown Primary
/
Oropharyngeal Neoplasms
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol
Journal subject:
OTORRINOLARINGOLOGIA
Year:
2022
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom