Cancer that arises in the head or neck region includes the brain, nasal cavity, sinuses, lips, mouth, salivary glands, throat, or larynx (voice box).

If symptoms are present or cancer tests come back positive, your doctor may order further imaging tests to better evaluate the most accurate means of treatment. You may also need further tests to help determine if or how far the cancer has spread.

Procedures

PET/CT

PET/CT can be a useful tool when diagnosing or evaluating the presence of head or neck cancer. PET captures images of miniscule changes in the body's metabolism caused by the growth of abnormal cells, while CT images simultaneously allow physicians to pinpoint the exact location, size, and shape of the diseased tissue or tumor. Essentially, small lesions or tumors are detected with PET and then precisely located with CT.

CT

A Computerized Tomography (CT) scan may be ordered to produce a series of detailed images of your head or area of concern. A special contrast may be injected into your bloodstream after a few CT scans are taken. The contrast helps make tumors more visible on X-rays.

MRI

A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan uses magnetic fields and radio waves to generate images of the head. Images produced by an MRI are particularly useful in diagnosing brain tumors. Sometimes a special contrast is injected into your bloodstream during the procedure to help distinguish cancerous areas from healthy tissue.

Angiogram

An Angiogram test involves injecting a special dye into your bloodstream. The dye flows through the blood vessels in your brain and can be seen on an X-ray. This test helps show the location of blood vessels in and around a brain tumor.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound imaging technique uses no radiation, but combines high-frequency sound waves and computer processing. Ultrasound is especially good for providing information about the shape, texture and makeup of tumors and cysts. While you relax on a bed or examining table, a wand-like device (transducer) is placed next to your head. It emits inaudible sound waves that are reflected back to the transducer (similar to sonar). Those reflected sound waves are then translated into a moving image by a computer.