title: Role of intraoral color Doppler sonography in predicting delayed cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with early-stage tongue cancer: a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To clarify the intraoral color Doppler sonographic features of tongue cancer in relation to cervical lymph node metastasis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-one patients (24 men and 7 women; 32-87 years old; median 60.6 years) with T1-2 N0 squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue were enrolled. Preoperative clinical information and sonographic findings were collected. Patients were followed up for 2 years or more, and the presence of delayed lymph node metastasis was investigated. Significant clinical and sonographic factors were evaluated in relation to lymph node metastasis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant differences in maximum and minimum tumor size, clinical type, tumor depth and thickness, shape of the invading front of the tumor, vascular index (VI) of the tumor area, and asymmetry of the VI of the deep lingual artery were observed between patients with cervical lymph node metastasis and those without. The areas under the curve (AUCs) of tumor thickness and the VI of the tumor area were 0.861 and 0.909, respectively, on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for predicting lymph node metastasis. The AUC for the VI showed a slightly higher value, although the difference was not significant (P = .532).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intraoral color Doppler sonography is recommended, as it may identify predictive factors of cervical lymph node metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Nagoya, Japan. Electronic address: Yoshiko@dpc.agu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ariji
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukano
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Oral Pathology, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugita
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.affiliation: Professor and Chairman, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiichiro
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ariji
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color / Q000295:instrumentation