Contribution of Open Mouth Technique in [.sup.18]F-FDG PET/CT Imaging in Patients with Malignant Lip Neoplasm/Dudak Malign Neoplazmi Tanili Hastalarin [.sup.18]F-FDG PET/BT Goruntulemesinde Agiz Acik Pozisyonlamanin Katkisi

• Published in: Molecular imaging and radionuclide therapy 2022-10, Vol.31 (3), p.172
• Main Authors: Mutevelizade, Gozde, Sezgin, Ceren, Parlak, Yasemin, Gumuser, Gul, Sayit, Elvan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CT imaging; Diagnosis; Lips; Medical examination; Methods; Mouth cancer; PET imaging
• ISSN: 2146-1414
• DOI: 10.4274/mirt.galenos.2022.79836

Objectives: [.sup.18]F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) plays an important role in evaluating head and neck cancers. However, localization and size evaluation in this region can be rough due to the multitude of the anatomic structures and physiologic uptakes. The aim of this study was to evaluate malignant lip lesions with the contribution of open mouth (OM) imaging technique at PET/CT. Methods: Fifty-six patients with malignant lip neoplasm underwent [.sup.18]F-FDG PET/CT imaging. Each patient was imaged twice as whole-body PET/CT with routine closed mouth (CM) position; and OM head and neck image, standardized with a special device. Lesion maximum standard uptake value ([SUV.sub.max]), localization, size, and involvement of lymph nodes were evaluated. Results: Lesion localization was correctly detected in 100% of the OM images. Lesion size in PET/CT was compared with clinical, radiological (magnetic resonance imaging and CT) and/or histopathological results and the size measurement was coherent at 47.1% and 95.6% for CM and OM images, respectively. It was observed that OM acquisition did not contribute additionally in detecting regional lymph node metastasis. Forty-one PET/CT scans with CT artifacts due to dental amalgams were evaluated and 46.3% dimensional and 53.7% localization errors were detected in the CM position. There was no statistically significant difference between OM and CM [SUV.sub.max] (p>0.05). Conclusion: We concluded that additional OM head and neck imaging is useful and necessary to accurately determine the localization and size of the tumor, thus enhancing the value of PET/CT in staging, treatment response assessment, and restaging of patients with malignant lip cancer with or without dental amalgam. Keywords: Malignant lip neoplasm, open mouth technique, [.sup.18]F-FDG PET/CT Amac: Bas-boyun malignitelerinin degerlendirilmesinde [.sup.18]F-florodeoksiglukoz (FDG) pozitron emisyon tomografisi/bilgisayarli tomografi (PET/BT) oldukca onemli bir yere sahiptir. Ancak bu bolgede yerlesimli anatomik yapilarin coklugu ve fizyolojik tutulum sikligi nedeniyle lokalizasyon ve boyut degerlendirilmesinde gucluk yasanabilmektedir. Bu calismada amac, dudak malign neoplazmi evrelemesi amaciyla [.sup.18]F-FDG PET/BT cekilen hastalarda, agiz acik (AA) pozisyonlamanin primer tumorun lokalizasyon ve boyut degerlendirilmesine katkisini arastirmaktir. Yontem: Temmuz 2017-Ocak 2020 tarihleri arasinda klini