Contemporary Imaging and Reporting Strategies for Head and Neck Cancer: MRI, FDG PET/MRI, NI-RADS, and Carcinoma of Unknown Primary-AJR Expert Panel Narrative Review.

Abstract

CT, MRI, and FDG PET/CT play major roles in the diagnosis, staging, treatment planning, and surveillance of head and neck cancers. Nonetheless, an evolving understanding of head and neck cancer pathogenesis, advances in imaging techniques, changing treatment regimens, and a lack of standardized guidelines have led to areas of uncertainty in the imaging of head and neck cancer. This narrative review aims to address four issues in the contemporary imaging of head and neck cancer. The first issue relates to the standard and advanced sequences that should be included in MRI protocols for head and neck cancer imaging. The second issue relates to approaches to surveillance imaging after treatment of head and neck cancer, including the choice of imaging modality, the frequency of surveillance imaging, and the role of standardized reporting through the Neck Imaging Reporting and Data System. The third issue relates to the role of imaging in the setting of neck carcinoma of unknown primary. The fourth issue relates to the role of simultaneous PET/MRI in head and neck cancer evaluation. The authors of this review provide consensus opinions for each issue.