Purpose: A multistage approach to diagnose lateral retropharyngeal nodes (LRPNs) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) had been proposed and warranted for validation. Methods: Between 2012 and 2017, the patients with newly diagnosed NPC were enrolled. The responsive nodes or those that progressed during follow-up were positive. The criteria for the multistage approach delimited LRPNs with a minimal axial diameter (MIAD) ≥ 6.1 mm were assessed as positive and if the mean standard uptake value ≥ 2.6, or if the maximal coronal diameter ≥ 25 mm and maximal axial diameter ≥ 8 mm with nodes MIAD < 6.1 mm were also considered as positive. The outcomes were compared with the MIAD cutoff value ≥ 6 mm (traditional method). A chi-squared test was used to compare two areas under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curves. Results: A total of 67 eligible NPC cases and 155 LRPNs (72 positive and 83 negative) were analyzed. The accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of the traditional method were 0.91, 0.93, and 0.89, respectively. The values for the multistage approach all reached 0.94. The area under the curve was significantly greater for the multistage approach compared with the traditional method (p = 0.023). Conclusion: The results support the advantage of the multistage approach.

中文翻译：

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在一组鼻咽癌患者中验证咽后淋巴结新诊断标准的有效性。

目的：提出了一种诊断鼻咽癌 (NPC) 侧咽后淋巴结 (LRPN) 的多阶段方法，并有必要进行验证。方法：纳入2012-2017年初诊鼻咽癌患者。响应节点或在随访期间进展的节点是积极的。如果平均标准摄取值 ≥ 2.6，或者最大冠状直径 ≥ 25 mm 和最大轴向直径 ≥ 8 mm淋巴结 MIAD < 6.1 mm 也被认为是阳性。将结果与 MIAD 截止值 ≥ 6 mm（传统方法）进行比较。卡方检验用于比较受试者工作特征曲线曲线下的两个区域。结果：共分析了 67 例符合条件的 NPC 病例和 155 例 LRPN（72 例阳性和 83 例阴性）。传统方法的准确性、特异性和敏感性分别为0.91、0.93和0.89。多阶段方法的值都达到了 0.94。与传统方法相比，多阶段方法的曲线下面积明显更大（p = 0.023）。结论：结果支持多阶段方法的优势。