The role of tissue elasticity in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions using shear wave elastography

BMC Cancer

Zhiyi Chen¹  Hui Yang²  Jing Yin²  Yongyuan Xu²  Pintong Huang²  Yanan Zhao² 

[1] Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Laboratory of Ultrasound Molecular Imaging, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, The Liwan Hospital of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 510000, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China;Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310009, Hangzhou, China;

关键词: Breast;    Elastography;    Shear wave elastography;    Ultrasonography;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12885-020-07423-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundElastography is a promising way to evaluate tissue differences regarding stiffness, and the stiffness of the malignant breast lesions increased at the lesion margin. However, there is a lack of data on the value of the shear wave elastography (SWE) parameters of the surrounding tissue (shell) of different diameter on the diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of shell elasticity in the diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions using SWE.MethodsBetween September 2016 and June 2017, women with breast lesions underwent both conventional ultrasound (US) and SWE. Elastic values of the lesions peripheral tissue were determined according to the shell size, which was automatically drawn along the edge of the lesion using the following software guidelines: (1): 1 mm; (2): 2 mm; and (3): 3 mm. Quantitative elastographic features of the inner lesions and shell, including the elasticity mean (Emean), elasticity maximum (Emax), and elasticity minimum (Emin), were calculated using an online-available software. The receiver operating characteristic curves (ROCs) of the elastographic features was analyzed to assess the diagnostic performance, and the area under curve (AUC) of each elastographic feature was obtained. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict significant factors of malignancy, permitting the design of predictive models.ResultsThis prospective study included 63 breast lesions of 63 women. Of the 63 lesions, 33 were malignant and 30 were benign. The diagnostic performance of Emax-3shell was the highest (AUC = 0.76) with a sensitivity of 60.6% and a specificity of 83.3%. According to stepwise logistic regression analysis, the Emax-3shell and the Emin-3shell were significant predictors of malignancy (p < 0.05). The AUC of the predictive equation was 0.86.ConclusionsSWE features, particularly the combination of Emax-3shell and Emin-3shell can improve the diagnosis of breast lesions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY