Predicting prognostic factors of breast cancer using shear wave elastography

The purpose of the study described here was to investigate the correlation between histologic factors, including immunohistochemical factors, related to the prognosis of breast cancer and shear wave elastography (SWE) measurements. One hundred twenty-two breast cancers from 116 women were subjected to sonoelastography. Of the SWE features, mean and maximum elasticity and SWE ratio were extracted. The SWE ratio was calculated as the ratio of the stiffness of a portion of the lesion to that of a similar region of interest in fatty tissue. High ratios indicate stiffer lesions. The Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used for statistical analysis. Estrogen receptor negativity, progesterone receptor negativity, p53 positivity, Ki-67 positivity, high nuclear grade, high histologic grade and large tumor (invasive) size were associated with a significantly high SWE ratio (p < 0.05). ROC curve analysis yielded SWE ratio cutoff values of 2.74-3.69 for significant immunohistochemical factors and 4.21 for the basal-like subtype by maximizing specificity while ensuring more than 80% sensitivity. Breast cancers with aggressive histologic features had high SWE ratios. Shear wave elastography may provide useful information for determining prognosis.