The measurement of benign salivary gland tumors using sonography in clinical routine

Introduction The quality of any imaging procedure depends on the examiner; this is particularly true for sonography (US) since it is a dynamic method. A diagnostic parameter that is easy to check is the measurement of the size of tumors (TU) in two dimensions.

Materials and methods Evaluation of 70 patients with benign TU of the large salivary glands (64 GLP, 6 GSM) who underwent surgery in the ENT University Clinic in Regensburg between 01/21 – 11/21. US, MRI and histologically measured tumor extension were retrospectively correlated and compared. Furthermore, we grouped the data according to the level of training of the examiner, [Resident (RE) vs. Attending (AT)]. The results of the two subgroups were correlated and compared again with the histological findings.

Results All TU were examined using US preoperatively. An evaluable MRI was available in 26 patients. The mean time between imaging and surgery was 3.4 months for US and 6 months for MRI. Overall, there was a statistically significant difference between the histological tumor size and US. MRI showed no significant difference. The subgroup analysis still revealed a significant difference comparing US and histological findings for the RE group, but no longer for the AT group. With a mean difference of -0.7 mm to the pathological finding, MRI was more accurate than US (total: -2.9 mm; AT: -2.1 mm).

Conclusion In comparison to MRI and pathology, TU tend to be estimated smaller in US. The more precise sonographic measurement by a AT underlines the importance of early structured ultrasound training and supervision in daily routine.

Publication History

Article published online:
12 May 2023