Clinical Value of Narrow Band Imaging Endoscopy in the Early Diagnosis and Staging Assessment of Laryngeal and Hypopharyngeal Cancer.

Abstract

Objective: To explore the clinical value of narrow band imaging (NBI) endoscopy in the early diagnosis and staging assessment of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer.

Methods: A total of 78 patients with lesions in the hypopharynx or larynx were examined using endoscopy, observed under both white light and NBI modes, and graded using NBI. Using Lugol's iodine solution, laryngeal and hypopharyngeal lesions were graded using iodine staining. Using histopathological examination or postoperative pathological results as the diagnostic criteria, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of endoscopy and iodine staining in diagnosing early cancer and precancerous lesions were evaluated.

Results: Multiple lesions were identified by both methods, and pathological examination confirmed 86 lesions, including early squamous cell carcinoma and precancerous lesions, such as early esophageal cancer, high-grade esophageal intraepithelial neoplasia, and hypopharyngeal cancer. Endoscopy showed significantly higher accuracy, detection rate, sensitivity, and specificity in NBI mode than in white light mode (96.12%, 86.05%, 97.37%, 86.67% vs 86.05%, 76.74%, 86.84%, 80%, respectively; P < 0.05). NBI grading and iodine staining grading showed good consistency with pathological diagnosis, with a Kappa value of 0.684 and 0.622, respectively.

Conclusions: NBI endoscopy allows for better observation of subtle structural changes on the surface of lesions compared to white light endoscopy. It provides high accuracy in detecting early laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer and precancerous lesions, determining biopsy sites, facilitating early diagnosis, and establishing safe surgical margins. NBI endoscopy offers a viable alternative for non-invasive screening and early diagnosis of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer, showing great potential for clinical advancement.