title: Nonpalpable lymph nodes of the neck: assessment with US and US-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy.
abstract: Ultrasound (US) and US-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) were performed in 91 nonpalpable neck nodes of 70 patients, 98% of which had known malignancy. Various sonographic findings were evaluated for predicting malignancy. The accuracy of US-guided FNA for detecting malignancy was 88%, with 96% sensitivity and 94% specificity. The ratio of minimal to maximal axial diameters of a node was most valid for predicting malignancy with US. A ratio of more than 0.55 yielded the highest accuracy (80%) (92% sensitivity, 63% specificity). Addition of any other factors to this criterion did not improve its accuracy. US and US-guided FNA are accurate for the assessment of nonpalpable neck nodes. Lymph nodes with a round configuration should be biopsied in patients with known malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sone
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tomiyama
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakamura
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods