Cancer that arises in the head or neck region includes the brain, nasal cavity, sinuses, lips, mouth, salivary glands, throat, or larynx (voice box).
If symptoms are present or cancer tests come back positive for your patient, you may order further imaging tests to better evaluate the most accurate means of treatment. You may also need further tests to help determine if or how far your patient's cancer has spread.
Procedures
PET/CT
PET/CT can be a useful tool when diagnosing or evaluating the presence of head or neck cancer. PET captures images of miniscule changes in the body's metabolism caused by the growth of abnormal cells, while CT images simultaneously allow physicians to pinpoint the exact location, size, and shape of the diseased tissue or tumor. Essentially, small lesions or tumors are detected with PET and then precisely located with CT.
CT
A Computerized Tomography (CT) scan may be ordered to produce a series of detailed images of your head or area of concern. A special contrast may be injected into the bloodstream after a few CT scans are taken. The contrast helps make tumors more visible on X-ray.
MRI
A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan uses magnetic fields and radio waves to generate images of the head. Images produced by an MRI are particularly useful in diagnosing brain tumors. Sometimes a special contrast is injected into the bloodstream during the procedure to help distinguish cancerous areas from healthy tissue.
Angiogram
An Angiogram test involves injecting a special dye into the bloodstream. The dye flows through the blood vessels in the brain and can be seen on an X-ray. This test helps show the location of blood vessels in and around a brain tumor.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound imaging technique uses no radiation, but combines high-frequency sound waves and computer processing. Ultrasound is especially good for providing information about the shape, texture and makeup of tumors and cysts. While a patient relaxes on a bed or examining table, a wand-like device (transducer) is placed next to the head. It emits inaudible sound waves that are reflected back to the transducer (similar to sonar). Those reflected sound waves are then translated into a moving image by a computer.