Comparative analysis of the ultrasonographic and laryngoscopic features of glottic laryngeal carcinoma

AIM: To classify the ultrasonographic features of glottic laryngeal carcinoma and to explore the concordance between two-dimensional ultrasound findings, color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) characteristics and endoscopic morphological classifications under white light and narrow-band imaging (NBI). MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 151patients with pathologically confirmed glottic laryngeal carcinoma. Ultrasonographic findings were categorized based on twodimensionalgrayscale and CDFI findings. The concordance between ultrasound-based classifications and morphological types observed under white-light and NBI endoscopy was analyzed. The influencing factors of different vascular patterns were also investigated. RESULTS: The morphological classifications identified by two-dimensional ultrasound - i.e., mass, moth-eaten, popcorn-like, and thickened types - were significantly correlated with endoscopic morphological types. Blood flow patterns observed on CDFI - i.e., star-like, tree-branch, and firework-like - were strongly correlated with intrapapillary capillary loop (IPCL) classifications under NBI. Tumor length and the resistive index (RI) were significantly associated with blood flow patterns (p < 0.05), and multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the RI was an independent predictor of blood flow patterns. CONCLUSION: Two-dimensional ultrasound can be used to obtain quantitative vascular parameters and to noninvasively assess both the morphology and vascular characteristics of glottic laryngeal carcinoma. These sonographic findings exhibit high concordance with endoscopic evaluations, thus providing support for the use of ultrasound as a valuable adjunct in the pretreatment assessment of glottic carcinoma.