CT and MR features of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in children and young adults.
OBJECTIVE
To clarify CT and MR features of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in children and young adults.


METHODS
CT and MR findings of 13 patients (30 years old or younger) with a histopathologic diagnosis of NPC were reviewed.


RESULTS
Skull base invasion (12/13), lymphadenopathy (10/13), and infiltrative growth (8/8) were common findings. The signal intensity of tumours was slightly higher than that of muscles in six cases and isointense to that of muscles in two cases on T1-weighted images; it was higher than that of muscle and lower than that of cerebellar grey matter on T2-weighted images in all cases. Internal signals were homogeneous in both pre- and post-Gd-enhanced MR images in all cases.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite its rarity in this age group, NPC should be included in a differential diagnosis when CT and MR imaging reveal these features.
Yabuuchi
Hidetake
H
Department of Radiology, National Kyushu Cancer Centre, Fukuoka, Japan. hyabuu@nk-cc.go.jp
Fukuya
Tatsuro
T
Murayama
Sadayuki
S
Sakai
Shuji
S
Okamura
Jun
J
Fukuda
Toshiro
T
Tomita
Kichinobu
K
Ro
Tokugen
T
Masuda
Kouji
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012886:Skull / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed