Imaging of Nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Abstract

This chapter aims to discuss the multifaceted roles of anatomical, functional, and molecular imaging in the management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma from diagnosis to therapy and surveillance, in light of its increasing use in patient care. Each imaging modality presents advantages and disadvantages regarding anatomical resolution, temporal resolution, sensitivity, and specificity in various clinical scenarios. Ultrasonography is suitable for a quick screening of cervical nodal involvement due to the ease of handling, wide availability, and real-time nature. Computed tomography offers high-resolution images with undistorted attenuation information for radiation dose planning. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers excellent soft tissue resolution with high spatial resolution for primary tumor delineation. Moreover, with advanced functional imaging sequences, it can be used to probe functional parameters of tumor tissue. Positron emission tomography (PET) is unique in providing information about tumor metabolism. Finally, hybrid imaging modalities that combine anatomic, metabolic, and functional information, like integrated whole body PET/CT and PET/MRI, may provide a comprehensive imaging workup to derive multiparametric information of the primary tumor, and nodal and distant metastases.