Comparative assessment of the depth of invasion of early-stage oral cavity carcinomas based on intraoral ultrasound and computerized tomography findings

Background/Aim. The stage of oral cavity carcinoma (OCC), and the nodal involvement define the treatment selection, outcome and the prognosis of the disease. In determining the stage of OCC, the most widely applied methods are computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), whose limitations can be overcome to some extent by using intraoral ultrasound. The aim of the study was to evaluate the imaging presentation of early-stage OCC, to determine the depth of invasion (DOI) and the largest diameter of the tumor (greatest dimension - GD) by intraoral ultrasound (IOUS) and CT methods, and to compare it with histopathological (HP) findings. Methods. The study was designed as a prospective one, with the time limitation of 3 months. Eleven patients with clinical earlystage OCC, underwent a native CT examination of the head and neck as well as contrast enhanced phase and then, IOUS of the lesion was performed. Using both methods, DOI and GD values were measured, and the values were correlated with HP findings. The analysis of the obtained data was performed using the statistical package SPSS 22 and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results. A significant correlation (p = 0.001) was established between the DOI values measured by IOUS and CT examination with the measurements obtained by HP processing. On the other hand, by comparing the GD measured on IOUS and CT examination, no correlation was established with the HP report. Conclusion. Measurements of DOI obtained by IOUS significantly correlated with those in HP report, while overcoming the limitations of the CT method in the evaluation of small sized tumors and tumors that cannot be shown due to artifacts.