[Identification of cervical lymph node micrometastasis of tongue cancer by color Doppler and MRI].

OBJECTIVE:To assess the values of color Doppler and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the identification of cervical lymph node micrometastasis of tongue cancer. METHODS:Totally 96 cases of tongue cancer with impalpable neck lymph node was examined with color Doppler and MRI within one week before surgery. Chi-square test was used to assess if the presence of regional lymph node micrometastasis, histopathological analysis as a golden standard lymph node micrometastasis. RESULTS:For the diagnosis of cervical lymph node micrometastasis, color Doppler was significantly better than MRI in sensitivity (72.5% vs 50.0%, P = 0.039) and the accuracy (78.1% vs 64.6%, P = 0.038), but no significant difference in the specificity (82.1% vs 75.0%, P = 0.357), the positive predictive value (74.4% vs 58.8%, P = 0.159) and the negative predictive value (80.7% vs 67.7%, P = 0.108). CONCLUSION:Color Doppler is better than MRI in the sensitivity and accuracy for the diagnosis of cervical lymph node micrometastasis of tongue cancer.