o Introduction:
Cervical lymph node metastasis is a very important prognostic factor for most head and neck neoplastic lesions. Both the site and number of the nodes can directly change its tumor stage, thus influence the treatment guidelines and affect the survival rate. Histopathological assessment of the lymph node is the most accurate way to differentiate between benign and malignant nodes; however it is an invasive procedure. Many studies were done to characterize the lymph node without the need of biopsy or intravenous contrast.


o Aim
The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of Diffusion Weighted Imaging DWI MRI and chemical shift imaging (In and Out of phase) in differentiation between malignant and benign cervical lymph nodes.


Methods
This research included 31 patients referred from the Oncology, Otorhinolaryngology and head and neck surgical ward with cervical lymphadenopathies to the Radiology department of Alexandria Main University Hospitals for MR imaging. The MR diagnoses of the cervical lymph nodes were correlated with histologic findings from biopsy.