Color Doppler-ultrasonography in oral squamous cell carcinoma: Making ultrasonography more meaningful

BACKGROUND: Although color Doppler ultrasonography (CD-USG) is useful in the diagnosis of various diseases of the head and neck, flow signals in the malignant oral tumors are less studied. This study aimed to study the usefulness of CD-USG in mapping OSCC of buccal mucosa, tongue, and lip. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a case–control study, conducted among 60 subjects aged 20–70 years. Group A consisted of 30 cases of OSCC of buccal mucosa, tongue, and lip, whereas Group B consisted of 30 controls. CD-USG investigation of each mass was carried out. The spectral waveform (time velocity Doppler spectrum) of flow signal was analyzed for the pulsatility index (PI), resistivity index (RI), peak systolic velocity (PSV) (m/s), and end diastolic velocity (EDV) (m/s). All patients had real-time, gray-scale sonography and CD-USG with spectral wave analysis. RESULTS: In this study, the mean value for RI in patients with malignancy was 0.40 + 0.14, whereas for healthy subjects, it was 0.83 + 0.07. The mean value for PI in patients with malignancy was 0.86 + 0.20, whereas for healthy subjects, it was 2.61 + 0.77. In the present study, the mean PSV in malignant masses was 31.72 + 13.48, whereas for healthy subjects, it was 43.87 + 20.95, and the EDV in malignant masses was 10.33 + 5.21, whereas for healthy subjects, it was 7.07 + 3.44. CONCLUSIONS: The said Doppler indices were shown to be sensitive as well as specific for the diagnosis of malignant oral tumors. Although CD-USG cannot replace histopathological procedures, it plays a definite role as an adjunct to the clinical evaluation of OSCC cases.