Computed tomography in planning radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal cancer

The authors compare the results obtained by CT with clinics and conventional radiography in the staging of nasopharyngeal tumors. The accurate evaluation of tumor size, localization, and spread, helps optimize treatment planning and fit radiation boosts on small fields. Twenty-six patients underwent clinical examination, radiography of the skull and neck, lateral stratigraphy of epipharinx, and CT of head and neck. We compared the results obtained in the study of: nasopharyngeal walls, parapharyngeal space, paranasal sinuses, nasal cavity, bone erosion of the base of the skull, and continuous invasion without bone erosions. Our results point to conventional radiology as the examination of choice for the study of upper nasopharyngeal wall, while CT allows a better evaluation of the lateral wall, and is clearly superior in demonstrating parapharyngeal space, contiguous intracranial invasion, and neck nodes involvement