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Subject Area

Radiology and Imaging Sciences

Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Objective To detect the role of MRI in the evaluation of different nasopharyngeal tumors in adults. Background Nasopharyngeal tumors are rarely seen in tumors in which diagnosis, treatment, and staging are challenging due to anatomic localization. The most common imaging techniques used in the evaluation of nasopharyngeal tumors are computed tomography (CT), MRI, and positron-emission tomography. Patients and methods This study is a prospective study of descriptive and analytical design, including 25 adult patients diagnosed to have nasopharyngeal tumors through clinical, endoscopic, and histopathological evaluation. Then, they were referred to do MRI to evaluate the lesions. Results There were statistically significant differences between post-therapeutic follow-up at 3–6 and 12 months among the studied patients regarding lesion, lymphadenopathy, and sinusitis (P<0.05). While mastoid opacification was not a significant difference between the studied patient's post-therapeutic follow-up of 3–6 and 12 months (P = 0.67). The sensitivity of MRI for diagnosis of pathological neck nodes in the nasopharyngeal lesions was 92%, specificity was 84%, positive predictive value was 75%, negative predictive value was 88%, and accuracy was 87%. Conclusion MRI is essential in the diagnosis of primary nasopharyngeal tumors in adults and evaluation of the associated retropharyngeal and cervical lymphadenopathy. It plays an important role in the staging of tumors, especially nasopharyngeal carcinoma, selection of appropriate therapy, and evaluation and follow-up of the patients after the therapy to detect treatment changes such as recurrence and fibrosis.

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