BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to determine the extension of pyriform sinus (PS), through CT after the clinical and endoscopic assessment. METHODS: For this purpose, the following structures were ascertained: PS, aryepiglottic folds, paraglottic space, glottis, subglottis, pharynx, thyroid cartilage, cricoid cartilage, arytenoid cartilage, cervical esophagus, extralaringeal tumoral extension and prevertebral muscle invasion. We retrospectively studied 31 patients (29 men) evaluated in the Head and Neck Surgery Service of the Heliópolis Hospital, between 1988 and 2003. RESULTS: Three radiologists were blinded to any clinical information, performed independent CT analysis determining the presence of involvement of each structure. The interobserver reproducibility was assessed by the Kappa rank. Strong interobserver reproducibility were found for pyriform sinus, aryepiglottic folds, paraglottic space and subglottis; good reproducibility for oropharynx, glottis, cricoid cartilage, cervical esophagus and extralaringeal tumoral extension; moderate reproducibility for thyroid and arytenoid cartilages; and there was only a weak reproducibility for prevertebral muscle invasion. CONCLUSION: The interobserver CT analyses of PSCC determine the TNM re-staging and changes in surgical paradigm.
Neoplasm staging; Tomography; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Surgical Procedures, Operative
