Morgan RL, et al. - In this investigation involving 1765 patients, researchers sought to define the optimal imaging for the staging of oropharyngeal cancer. To compare patient features and hospital region by the initial imaging modality used for oropharyngeal cancer patients, the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare database for 2006 through 2011 was used. Study participants underwent initial diagnostic imaging for this analysis. It was noted that the overall 3-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) rate for the entire population was 63.7%. Initial staging with PET imaging was linked to improved 3-year CSS vs initial staging with MRI or CT among patients with oropharyngeal cancer.