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Evaluation of the larynx for tumour recurrence by diffusion-weighted MRI after radiotherapy: initial experience in four cases

Departments of ¹Radiology ²Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery ³Pathology ⁵Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven and ⁴Department of Experimental Radiobiology/LEO, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Correspondence: Dr Robert Hermans, Department of Radiology, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.

Radiotherapy-induced changes in the soft tissues of the neck hamper the early detection of persistent or recurrent tumour by clinical examination and imaging procedures. Diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI is a non-invasive technique capable of probing tissue properties by measuring the movement of water. The purpose of the ongoing study is to examine the usefulness of DW-MRI for differentiation of persistent or recurrent tumour from post-radiotherapeutic sequelae or complications. Four patients, suspected of tumour recurrence after radiotherapy for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, were examined using a DW-MRI sequence on a clinical 1.5 T MR system prior to surgery. In two patients, the DW-MRI images showed an asymmetric hyperintense lesion on b1000 images with low apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)-value, compatible with tumour on histopathology. All surrounding tissue presented high ADC values and absent signal on the b1000 images, histopathologically correlating to post-radiotherapeutic changes. The images of the third and fourth patient showed absent or minimal symmetric hyperintensity of the laryngeal soft tissues on the b1000 images and high ADC-values. In these cases, the histopathological diagnosis of radionecrosis was made and no tumour was found. In all four cases, differentiation of tumoral tissue from radiotherapy-induced tissue alterations was possible with DW-MRI.

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