Cancer Management and Research (Oct 2018)

Confirmed value of shear wave elastography for ultrasound characterization of breast masses using a conservative approach in Chinese women: a large-size prospective multicenter trial

  • Lin X,
  • Chang C,
  • Wu CJ,
  • Chen Q,
  • Peng YL,
  • Luo BM,
  • Tang LN,
  • Li J,
  • Zheng JH,
  • Zhou RH,
  • Cui GH,
  • Li A,
  • Wang XM,
  • Qian LX,
  • Zhang JX,
  • Wen CY,
  • Gay J,
  • Zhang HL,
  • Li AH,
  • Chen YL

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 10
pp. 4447 – 4458

Abstract

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Xi Lin,1 Cai Chang,2,3 Changjun Wu,4 Qin Chen,5 Yulan Peng,6 Baoming Luo,7 Lina Tang,8 Jing Li,9 Jihui Zheng,10 Ruhai Zhou,11 Guanghe Cui,12 Ao Li,13 Xuemei Wang,14 Linxue Qian,15 Jianxing Zhang,16 Chaoyang Wen,17 Joel Gay,18 Huili Zhang,18 Anhua Li,1 Yaling Chen2,3 1State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Department of Ultrasound, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, P. R. China; 2Department of Ultrasound, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, P. R. China; 3Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P. R. China; 4Department of Ultrasound, First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, P. R. China; 5Department of Ultrasound, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Chengdu 610072, P. R. China; 6Department of Ultrasound, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, P. R. China; 7Department of Ultrasound, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510235, P. R. China; 8Department of Ultrasound, Fujian Provincial Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou 350014, P. R. China; 9Department of Ultrasound, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, P. R. China; 10Department of Ultrasound, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110032, P. R. China; 11Department of Ultrasound, Yinzhou Hospital Affiliated to Medical School of Ningbo University, Ningbo 315040, P. R. China; 12Department of Ultrasound, Binzhou Medical University Hospital, Binzhou 256603, P. R. China; 13Department of Ultrasound, Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing 210029, P. R. China; 14Department of Ultrasound, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, P. R. China; 15Department of Ultrasound, Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, P. R. China; 16Department of Ultrasound, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, P. R. China; 17Department of Ultrasound, First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100037, P. R. China; 18Supersonic Imagine, Aix-en-Provence, France Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the value of shear wave elastography (SWE) for characterization of breast masses in a Chinese population. Patients and methods: Two thousand two hundred seventy-three women consented to be prospectively enrolled for the characterization of breast masses with ultrasound and SWE. Breast masses were known from symptoms, palpability, and/or previous imaging screening with mammography and/or ultrasound. Correlation of SWE qualitative and quantitative features with malignancy risk and impact on diagnostic performance of combining SWE features were assessed, and the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) scoring was calculated using histopathology as reference. Results: Data of 2,262 masses (median size: 13 mm; range: 1.3–50) from 2,262 patients (median age: 43 years; range: 18–91) were investigated, of which 752 (33.3%) were malignant. Sensitivity and specificity of BI-RADS diagnosis were 97.5% (733/752) and 54.8% (827/1,510), respectively. By logistic regression, the combination of maximum elasticity (Emax) measurements with BI-RADS assessments increased the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve from 0.908 (95% CI: 0.896–0.920) to 0.954 (95% CI: 0.944–0.962). Using Emax of 30 kPa or lower to selectively downgrade BI-RADS 4a masses to follow-up, and Emax of 160 kPa or higher to selectively upgrade BI-RADS 3 lesions to biopsy, specificity significantly increased from 54.8% (827/1,510) to 66.1% (998/1,510) (P<0.001) while sensitivity decreased nonsignificantly from 97.5% (733/752) to 96.9% (729/752) (P=0.2891). Positive predictive value for biopsy recommendation increased from 51.7% (733/1,417) to 58.7% (729/1,241) (P<0.001). Conclusion: Adding SWE maximum stiffness to BI-RADS 3 and BI-RADS 4a breast masses in a Chinese population increased significantly the specificity of breast ultrasonography, without significant change in sensitivity. Keywords: breast cancer, shear wave elastography, ultrasound, multicenter

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