The Diagnostic Accuracy of Ultrasonography versus Endoscopy for Primary Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To compare the accuracy of ultrasonography (US) with the current clinical standard of endoscopy for a diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: A total of 150 patients suspected of having NPC underwent US and endoscopy. A diagnosis was obtained from an endoscopic biopsy collected from each suspected tumor and was compared with a biopsy obtained from a normal nasopharynx. The diagnostic accuracy of US and endoscopy for NPC was evaluated using receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis performed by MedCalc Software. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of US versus endoscopy for this cohort were 90.1%, 84.8%, and 87.3% for US, and 88.7%, 97.5%, and 93.3% for endoscopy, respectively. Both US and endoscopy exhibited good diagnostic accuracy for NPC with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.929 and 0.938, respectively. However, this difference was not significant (Z = 0.36, P = 0.72). CONCLUSION: US is a useful tool for the detection of tumors in endoscopically suspicious nasopharynx tissues, and also for the detection of subclinical tumors in endoscopically normal nasopharynx tissues.