Predictive value of computed tomography in identifying extracapsular spread of cervical lymph node metastases in p16 positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Extracapsular spread (ECS) of lymph node metastases is associated with poor prognosis and is an indication for adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Accurately identifying ECS using imaging may allow us to recommend primary chemoradiotherapy to avoid trimodality treatment. We investigated the accuracy of staging CT in diagnosing ECS in P16 + oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC).