{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T11:30:54Z","timestamp":1787225454337,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787184000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001700","name":"Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["22K10129"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["22K10129"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001700","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Tomography"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Surgically treated oral cancer patients often face velopharyngeal insufficiency, which adversely impacts their quality of life (QOL). Our past investigations revealed noticeable MR signal shifts in velopharyngeal-related muscles during water deglutition on CMR among healthy individuals. We hypothesized that analyzing these distinct signal fluctuations could offer a novel visual perspective for detecting deglutition anomalies in surgical oral cancer cases. This feasibility study aimed to assess velopharyngeal-related muscular performance via CMR in post-operative oral cancer patients. Methods: Nineteen patients with oral malignancies were prospectively evaluated pre- and post-operatively. Twelve quantitative CMR metrics alongside subjective dysphagia scores were investigated. We analyzed whether signal intensity (SI) ratio alterations in these muscles correlated with dysphagia severity and clinical parameters. Results: Although three specific CMR parameters significantly worsened post-operatively, muscle MR signal values increased during deglutition without significant variation between pre- and post-surgical states. Subjective swallowing assessments remained entirely normal across all subjects. Conclusions: This preliminary investigation indicates that CMR can visualize stable velopharyngeal-related muscle activity after surgery in oral cancer patients maintaining adequate swallowing status. Nevertheless, confirmation via larger, symptomatic patient cohorts alongside gold-standard techniques remains mandatory.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/tomography12080117","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T10:55:18Z","timestamp":1787223318000},"page":"117","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Characteristic MR Signal of Velopharyngeal-Related Muscles on Cine-MRI in Patients with Oral Cancers and Preserved Swallowing Function: An Exploratory Feasibility Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-4897-4005","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shun","family":"Nishimura","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"},{"name":"Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Image Diagnosis, Department of Diagnostics and General Care, Fukuoka Dental College, Fukuoka 814-0175, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4330-2984","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Masafumi","family":"Oda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mana","family":"Hayakawa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Maxillofacial Surgery, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shirou","family":"Tabe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Maxillofacial Surgery, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-9426-184X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hiroki","family":"Tsurushima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Oral Medicine, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-1135-4692","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Susumu","family":"Nishina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-2830-1270","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kozue","family":"Iwawaki-Otsuka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-6288-1101","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nao","family":"Wakasugi-Sato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shinobu","family":"Matsumoto-Takeda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0564-2462","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Osamu","family":"Takahashi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Maxillofacial Surgery, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kazuya","family":"Haraguchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Maxillofacial Surgery, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shinji","family":"Yoshii","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Learning Design, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6586-2539","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manabu","family":"Habu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Maxillofacial Surgery, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Izumi","family":"Yoshioka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Oral Medicine, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Toyohiro","family":"Kagawa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Image Diagnosis, Department of Diagnostics and General Care, Fukuoka Dental College, Fukuoka 814-0175, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yasuhiro","family":"Morimoto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu 803-8580, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"387","DOI":"10.1016\/j.oraloncology.2012.12.002","article-title":"A systematic review of interventions for eating and drinking problems following treatment for head and neck cancer suggests a need to look beyond swallowing and 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