Systematic review: Accuracy of imaging tests in the diagnosis of recurrent laryngeal carcinoma after radiotherapy (original) (raw)

This review assessed the accuracy of imaging tests for recurrent laryngeal carcinoma after radiotherapy and concluded that 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography was sufficiently promising for a randomised controlled trial comparing it with conventional work-up. The included studies were small and few, which created wide confidence intervals around the sensitivity and specificity; further accuracy data might be useful before any trial. Authors' objectives To determine the diagnostic accuracy of imaging tests, which were computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), thallium-201 scintigraphy, and 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), in patients with a suspicion of recurrent laryngeal carcinoma after radiotherapy. This means that the authors' conclusion that these data were sufficient to justify a randomised controlled trial might be an overstatement and further accuracy data might be useful before a trial.