Usefulness of technetium-99m methoxyisobutylisonitrile single-photon emission computed tomography and computed tomography in the evaluation of cervical lymph node metastasis

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of technetium-99m methoxyisobutylisonitrile (Tc-99m-MIBI) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and computed tomography (CT) in evaluating cervical lymph node metastasis of head and neck cancer. Histopathologic results of 166 cervical lymph node levels in 31 neck-dissected patients were compared with pre-operative CT and Tc-99m-MIBI SPECT findings about cervical lymph node metastasis, retrospectively. Sensitivity, specificity and predictability of CT and Tc-99m-MIBI SPECT were 68.2, 93.1 and 89.8 per cent and 59.1, 87.5 and 83.7 per cent, respectively. When analysing CT and Tc-99m-MIBI SPECT together, sensitivity and specificity were 86.4 and 99.3 per cent, respectively. The combined use of Tc-99m-MIBI SPECT and CT could increase the accuracy of cervical lymph node metastases detection, compared with separate use of either Tc-99m-MIBI SPECT or CT.