HEAD & NECK, and CANCER: The Diagnostic Value of PET/MRI for Cervical Lymphnode Metastases in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancers

The purpose of the project is to investigate the diagnostic value of PET/MRI in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The hypothesis is that PET/MRI provides a more precise diagnosis of regional lymph node metastases, and thus, make the surgical treatment of the neck more accurate and less invasive resulting in reduced morbidity. The project is designed as a prospective cohort study based on paired data with head-to-head comparison of CT, MRI, PET/CT and PET/MRI. Patients will be included from the head and neck cancer fast-track program at the Center of Head and Neck Cancer, Odense University Hospital (OUH).
Included patients will be offered PET/MRI in addition to the conventional fast-track imaging. The description of the images will be made blinded. When a neck dissection of the lymph nodes is made, the lymph nodes will be separated in defined regions. The diagnostic accuracy of the individual imaging modalities is assessed for each neck level with histology as standard reference.