Differential Diagnosis of Parotid Gland Tumours: Which Magnetic Resonance Findings Should Be Taken in Account?

Overview

Journal Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital

Specialty Otorhinolaryngology

Date 2016 Jan 30

PMID 26824912

Citations 18

Authors

T Tartaglione

A Botto

M Sciandra

S Gaudino

L Danieli

C Parrilla

G Paludetti

C Colosimo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Our aim was to define typical magnetic resonance (MRI) findings in malignant and benign parotid tumours. This study is based on retrospective evaluation of pre-surgical MRI of 94 patients with parotid gland tumours. Histology results were available for all tumours. There were 69 cases of benign (73%) and 25 cases of malignant (27%) tumours, including 44 pleomorphic adenomas, 18 Warthin's tumours, 7 various benign tumours, 6 squamous cell carcinomas, 3 carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenomas, 2 mucoepidermoid carcinomas, 1 adenoid cystic carcinoma and 13 various malignant tumours. The following MRI parameters were evaluated: shape, site, size, margins, signal intensity (SI) on T1w and T2w images, contrast enhancement, signal of cystic content, presence or absence of a capsule, perineural spread, extraglandular growth pattern and cervical adenopathy. Statistical analysis was performed to identify the MRI findings most suggestive of malignancy, and to define the most typical MRI pattern of the most common histologies. Ill-defined margins (p < 0.001), adenopathies (p < 0.001) and infiltrative grown pattern (p < 0.001) were significantly predictive of malignancy. Typical findings of pleomorphic adenoma included hyperintensity on T2w images (p = 0.02), strong contrast enhancement (p < 0.001) and lobulated shape (p = 0.04). Typical findings of Warthin's tumour included hyperintense components on T1w images (p < 0.001), location in the parotid inferior process (p < 0.001) and mild or incomplete contrast enhancement (p = 0.01). SI on T1w and T2w images and contrast enhancement enables differential diagnosis between pleomorphic adenoma and Warthin's tumour.

Citing Articles

The Role of MRI Radiomics Using T2-Weighted Images and the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Map for Discriminating Between Warthin's Tumors and Malignant Parotid Gland Tumors.

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PMID: 40002215 PMC: 11852730. DOI: 10.3390/cancers17040620.

High Field MRI in Parotid Gland Tumors: A Diagnostic Algorithm.

Gaudino C, Cassoni A, Pisciotti M, Pucci R, Veneroso C, Di Gioia C Cancers (Basel). 2025; 17(1.

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Using Machine Learning on MRI Radiomics to Diagnose Parotid Tumours Before Comparing Performance with Radiologists: A Pilot Study.

Ammari S, Quillent A, Elvira V, Bidault F, Garcia G, Hartl D J Imaging Inform Med. 2024; .

PMID: 39390287 DOI: 10.1007/s10278-024-01255-y.

Different MRI-based radiomics models for differentiating misdiagnosed or ambiguous pleomorphic adenoma and Warthin tumor of the parotid gland: a multicenter study.

Yang J, Bi Q, Jin Y, Yang Y, Du J, Zhang H Front Oncol. 2024; 14:1392343.

PMID: 38939335 PMC: 11208325. DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1392343.

Preoperative Direct Puncture Embolization of Castleman Disease of the Parotid Gland: A Case Report.

Pedicelli A, Trombatore P, Bartolo A, Camilli A, Rossi E, Scarcia L Curr Oncol. 2024; 31(4):2047-2056.

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