Head and neck squamocellular carcinoma: added role of diffusion weighted imaging

Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) represents a recent added value to conventional MRI. It is applied in many oncological diseases, improving detection of lesions and possibility of tis- sue characterization. Quantitative measurement – obtained calculating the Apparent Diffusion Co- efficient (ADC) – has been proposed to better characterize the vitality of the oncological tissue. Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) are predominantly diagnosed in advanced stage; sub- sequently, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are generally adopted at the beginning of treatment to reduce stage of disease. The changes in a tumour lesion are not easily assessed by conventional ap- proaches, which are currently based on morphological features. Therefore, the role of diffusion MRI in the management of head and neck cancer has been proposed to early identify response to treat- ment. In addition, DWI capability in the assessment of nodal involvement and in the evaluation of residual/recurrence of disease after therapy is briefly discussed, explaining advantages due to its ap- plication in the management of HNSCC