The Role of Ultrasound and Doppler Study in Differentiation Between Malignant and Non Malignant Cervical Lymphadenopathy

Abstract

The diagnosis of superficial lymphadenopathy is important for therapeutic planning specially in patients with suspected malignancy. Substantial efforts have been directed toward differentiating benign from malignant lymphadenopathy on the basis of imaging findings. Power Doppler US is a non –invasive modality that help to depict malignant nodes through the changes resulting from the process of tumor angiogenesis.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the role of gray-scale ultrasonography and the usefulness of power Doppler sonography in differentiating benign from malignant cervical lymphadenopathy and to assess the nodal vascular patterns of various nodal diseases and correlate the sonographic findings with the histopathologic ones.

This study has been conducted on fifty patients with cervical lymphadenopathy referred to the Department of Radiology, Ain Shams University Hospital –Demirdash, Kasr Al – Ainy Hospital –Cairo University ,and National Cancer Institute –Cairo University - Egypt since First of May 2014 to First of June 2015. These patients included (30 ) males and (20) females, their age ranged from 6 to 76 years old.