Ultrasound Elastography for the Evaluation of Lymph Nodes

Frontiers in Oncology

卷:11

Christoph F. Dietrich¹  Qi Guo²  Jia-Yu Wang³  Yang Yu³  Xin-Wu Cui³  Ai-Jiao Yi⁴  Bin Wang⁴ 

[1] Department of Internal Medicine, Hirslanden Clinic, Bern, Switzerland;

[2] Department of Medical Ultrasound, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China;

[3] Department of Medical Ultrasound, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China;

[4] Department of Ultrasound, The First People’s Hospital of Yueyang, Yueyang, China;

关键词: lymph nodes;    screening;    ultrasonography;    elastography;    shear wave;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fonc.2021.714660

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The differential diagnosis of lymphadenopathy is important for predicting prognosis, staging, and monitoring the treatment, especially for cancer patients. Conventional computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging characterize lymph node (LN) with disappointing sensitivity and specificity. Conventional ultrasound with the advantage of high resolution has been widely used for the LN evaluation. Ultrasound elastography (UE) using color map or shear wave velocity can non-invasively demonstrate the stiffness and homogeneity of both the cortex and medulla of LNs and can detect early circumscribed malignant infiltration. There is a need of a review to comprehensively discuss the current knowledge of the applications of various UE techniques in the evaluation of LNs. In this review, we discussed the principles of strain elastography and shear wave-based elastography, and their advantages and limitations in the evaluation of LNs. In addition, we comprehensively introduced the applications of various UE techniques in the differential diagnosis of reactive LNs, lymphoma, metastatic LNs, and other lymphadenopathy. Moreover, the applications of endoscopic UE and endobronchial UE are also discussed, including their use for improving the positive rate of diagnosis of fine-needle aspiration biopsy.

【 授权许可】

Unknown