Value of Strain Elastography Ultrasound in Differentiation of Breast Masses and Histopathologic Correlation

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: US elastography is an emerging technique that can be used during breast US examination. The increasing awareness of breast cancer led to an increase in mammography and breast US examinations. The specificity of these techniques is not high enough to prevent unnecessary biopsies. There is still a need for a more specific technique that can overcome this problem. This study aimed to evaluate the value of strain elastography in breast lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 110 lesions of 96 patients were evaluated with strain elastography. Five score system was used for lesion scoring. The histopathologic results of lesions were obtained and were accepted as gold standard. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of the technique were calculated. Histopathologic and strain elastography results were correlated. RESULTS: The sensitivity of US strain elastography was calculated as 83%, the specificity as 89%, the positive predictive value as 79% and the negative predictive value as 91%. There were no score 1 lesions. All score 2 lesions were benign. Score 5 had the highest true positivity rate. CONCLUSION: We believe that ultrasound elastography is an effective imaging technique that can be used as an adjunct for differential diagnosis, prior to the decision to biopsy a lesion in certain cases.