Lymph Node Assessment Using Simultaneous 18F-FDG-PET and MRI

Patients (n = 30) with head and neck cancer who are scheduled for node dissection surgery are
eligible. Enrolled subjects will undergo one research PET/MR scan at the Center for
Biomedical Imaging (660 First Avenue) within one week prior to the planned surgery. During
the dissection, the locations of removed lymph nodes will be noted in terms of conventional
neck lymph node levels. PET/MR data will be used for development of a combined kinetic model
analysis of PET and MRI data (Aim 1). The final PET/MR findings will be compared with
pathological evaluation results in order to assess the accuracy of PET/MR for detection of
nodal metastases (Aim 2).

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients with head and neck cancer who are scheduled for node dissection surgeries at NYU
Langone Medical Center or Bellevue hospital are eligible.

Exclusion Criteria:

Normal MRI exclusion criteria will apply, including those on the following list. A standard
MRI safety form will be used to identify potential conditions warranting exclusion.

- Electrical implants such as cardiac pacemakers or perfusion pumps

- Ferromagnetic implants such as aneurysm clips, surgical clips, prostheses, artificial
heart, valves with steel parts, metal fragments, shrapnel, bullets, tattoos near the
eye, or steel implants

- Ferromagnetic objects such as jewelry or metal clips in clothing

- Claustrophobia

- History of seizures

- Diabetes In addition, patients with GFR < 15 ml/min/1.73m2 or who are on dialysis will
be excluded from the study.