THE ROLE OF 1.5 TESLA MRI AND MDCT IN THE PREOPERATIVE STAGING OF
EARLY-STAGE GLOTTIC CANCER
Nguyen Duy Hung1,2, Do Thi Phuong Lan2,3, Bui Huyen Trang2, Nguyen Van Tuan4,
Nguyen Dinh Huong3, Nguyen Minh Duc5
1 – Department of Radiology, Viet Duc Hospital. Ha Noi, Vietnam.
2 – Department of Radiology, Hanoi Medical University. Ha Noi, Vietnam.
3 – Department of Radiology, Hanoi Oncology Hospital. Ha Noi, Vietnam.
4 – Radiology Center, Hanoi Medical University Hospital. Ha Noi, Vietnam.
5 – Department of Radiology, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
This study evaluates the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in assessing anterior commissure, paraglottic space and laryngeal cartilage invasion in early-stage glottic cancer (Tis–T2).
Materials and methods. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Hanoi Oncology Hospital between January 2022 and November 2024, involving 31 patients with early-stage glottic cancer. The diagnostic protocol included laryngoscopy, MRI, MDCT, preoperative biopsy, tumor resection, and histopathological analysis. Three independent radiologists assessed MRI, MDCT and combined MRI-MDCT images. The diagnostic performance of these imaging modalities was compared with postoperative histopathological findings.
Results. For invasion assessment MRI and combined MRI–MDCT demonstrated superior sensitivity, accuracy, negative predictive value (NPV) and agreement with histopathology compared to MDCT alone (Se, Ac, NPV: 100%, 90.9–96.77%, 100% vs. 60–66.67%, 90.3–93.55%, 88.0–92.95%; Kappa: 0.80–0.89 vs. 0.72–0.76). However, MDCT exhibited higher specificity and positive predictive value (Sp, PPV: 100% vs. 90.6–96.15%, 71.43–83.33%). For T-stage classification, MRI and MRI-MDCT achieved greater accuracy than MDCT (80.65% vs. 70.97%) and demonstrated stronger agreement with histopathology (Kappa: 0.71 vs. 0.54). Notably, MRI and MRI–MDCT tended to overstage tumors (16.13%), whereas MDCT more frequently understaged them (25.81%).
Conclusion. MRI exhibits superior sensitivity in assessing invasion and T staging of early-stage glottic cancer compared to MDCT. Combining MRI with MDCT enhances diagnostic accuracy and agreement with histopathology, particularly in evaluating thyroid cartilage involvement.
Keywords: early-stage glottic cancer, MRI, MDCT, T staging, invasion assessmen.
Corresponding author: Nguyen Minh Duc, e-mail: Этот e-mail адрес защищен от спам-ботов, для его просмотра у Вас должен быть включен Javascript
For citation: Nguyen Duy Hung, Do Thi Phuong Lan, Bui Huyen Trang, Nguyen Van Tuan, Nguyen Dinh Huong, Nguyen Minh Duc. The role of 1.5 tesla MRI and MDCT in the preoperative staging of early-stage glottic cancer. REJR 2025; 15(2):53-64. DOI: 10.21569/2222-7415-2025-15-2-53-64.
Received: 25.02.25 Accepted: 26.03.25