Exploration of Targeted Anti-tumor Therapy

Table 1. Standard imaging modalities for cervical lymph node staging in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) (T1–T2 cN0).

Modality	Key features	Strengths	Limitations	Diagnostic performance	Availability
Ultrasonography (US)	Morphology, Doppler flow, elastography	No radiation; real-time; FNAC guidance	Operator-dependent; limited deep-node assessment	Sensitivity ~90% Specificity ~85%	High
Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT)	Size, shape, enhancement	High spatial resolution; deep nodal stations; wide availability	Size-based criteria; poor micrometastasis detection	Sensitivity 65–84% Specificity 55–98%	High
Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI)	High soft-tissue contrast; diffusion weighted imaging (DWI)/ADC	No ionizing radiation; multiparametric evaluation	Cost; acquisition time; ADC variability	Sensitivity ~79% Specificity ~88%	Medium
Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/CT	Glucose metabolism (SUV)	Whole-body staging; detection of occult disease	Limited spatial resolution; inflammatory uptake	Sensitivity 85–90% Specificity 90–95%	Medium

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VC: Conceptualization, Writing—original draft. GDG: Formal analysis. GG: Writing—review & editing. GLC: Supervision. All authors read and approved the submitted version.

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