Multiparametric Ultrasound for Diagnosing Testicular Lesions: Everything You Need to Know in Daily Clinical Practice

Abstract

Background: Ultrasonography (US) represents the gold standard imaging method for the assessment of testicular lesions (TL). The gray-scale (GSUS) and color-Doppler (CDUS) ultrasound examination allow sonographers to investigate the size, margins, echotexture, and vascular features of TLs with the aim to differentiate benign from malignant lesions. Recently, the use of contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) and sonoelastography (SE) has led to further improvements in the differential diagnosis of TL. Although GSUS and CDUS are often sufficient to suggest the benign or malignant nature of the TL, CEUS can be decisive in the differential diagnosis of unclear findings, while SE can help to strengthen the diagnosis. The contemporary combination of GSUS, CDUS, CEUS, and SE has led to a new diagnostic paradigm named multiparametric US (mp-US), which is able to provide a more detailed characterization of TLs than single techniques alone. This narrative and pictorial review aimed to describe the mp-US appearance of several TLs. Methods: An extensive Medline search was performed to identify studies in the English language focusing on the mp-US evaluation of TLs. Results: A practical mp-US “identity card” and iconographic characterization of several benign and malignant TLs is provided herein. Conclusions: The mp-US characterization of TL reported herein can be useful in daily clinical practice.

Keywords

• ultrasound (US)
• multi-parametric ultrasound (mp-US)
• gray-scale ultrasound (GSUS)
• color-Doppler ultrasound (CDUS)
• contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)
• sonoelastography (SE)