Post-treatment benign changes versus recurrence in non-lymphoid head and neck malignancies: can diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging end up the diagnostic challenge?

Egyptian Journal of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine

Table 2 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment and combined qualitative assessment by MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)

Diagnosis	Conventional MRI assessment	Combined qualitative assessment by MRI and DWI	Biopsy and histopathological examination
Locoregional recurrence/residual tumour	20 cases 15 true positive 5 false positive	17 cases 16 true positive 1 false positive	“18 cases”
Post-treatment benign changes	10 cases 7 true negative 3 false negative	13 cases 11 true negative 2 false negative	“12 cases”
Total	30 cases	30 cases	“30 cases”

Results of conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment and combined qualitative assessment by MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) compared to the final definitive diagnoses obtained by biopsies and histopathological examinations
MRI magnetic resonance imaging, DWI diffusion-weighted imaging