Purpose: To obtain the relative volume by measuring the tongue volume and the lesion volume, and further explore its relationship with the prognosis of patients, hoping to supplement the TNM staging with a new index.
Methods: ITK-SANP software was used to outline the patients' MRI. After MRI reconstruction and measurement, slicer software was used to estimate tumor volume.
Results: A total of 64 patients with tongue cancer who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. The estimated tumor volume after MRI reconstruction revealed a significant and robust correlation with tumor stage (p < 0.05, Rs = 0.6207) and a substantial and medium correlation with early lymph node metastasis (p < 0.05, Rs = 0.4873).
Conclusions: We classified tongue cancer into three grades based on tumor volume (Stage I, tumors smaller than 1500 mm³; Stage II, tumors 1500-9000 mm³; and Stage III, tumors larger than 9000 mm³), and such grading could be used as a reference for tumor staging, lymph node metastasis, and patient prognosis to a certain extent.
Keywords: tongue MRI; tongue cancer; tongue cancer assessment; tongue cancer prognosis; tongue cancer stage.
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