# NI-RADS (Neck Imaging Reporting and Data System)

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/ni-rads/  
OnCo record `ni-rads` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

NI-RADS scores the scans done after treatment for head and neck cancer, separately for the original tumour site and the neck lymph nodes, to say how likely it is that cancer has come back.

## Summary

Neck masses after treatment for head and neck cancer are hard to interpret. The American College of Radiology's NI-RADS gives risk categories and management for surveillance imaging with CT, MRI or PET, scored separately for the primary site and the neck nodes. It applies to squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck skin and the mouth, nasal cavity, nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx, and to non-squamous cancers of the salivary glands, sinuses, orbit and thyroid. The first white paper appeared in 2018; an MRI version, v2025, is the current release.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: NI-RADS; Neck Imaging Reporting and Data System

## Sources

- American College of Radiology, NI-RADS (MRI v2025 and the 2018 white paper): https://www.acr.org/clinical-resources/clinical-tools-and-reference/reporting-and-data-systems/ni-rads

## Connected records

- terms: [Node-RADS (lymph node reporting system)](https://onco.cc/terms/node-rads/), [PI-RADS (Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System)](https://onco.cc/terms/pi-rads/)
- cancers: [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/), [Laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/laryngeal-cancer/), [Nasopharyngeal carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/nasopharyngeal/), [Oral cavity cancer (mouth and tongue)](https://onco.cc/cancers/oral-cavity-cancer/), [Oropharyngeal cancer (tonsil and base of tongue)](https://onco.cc/cancers/oropharyngeal-cancer/)
- technologies: [CT (computed tomography)](https://onco.cc/technologies/ct/), [FDG PET](https://onco.cc/technologies/fdg-pet/), [MRI](https://onco.cc/technologies/mri/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/ni-rads.json