Shear wave elastography for detection of prostate cancer: a preliminary study

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Medical Imaging
• Oncology

Background:

• Prostate cancer diagnosis relies on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and digital rectal examination (DRE).
• Biopsy remains the gold standard but has limitations in accuracy and sampling.
• Novel imaging techniques are needed to improve diagnostic precision.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic performance of shear wave elastography (SWE) for detecting prostate cancer.
• To assess the correlation of SWE parameters with Gleason score and cancer aggressiveness.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 87 patients with suspected prostate cancer undergoing systematic and targeted biopsies.
• Shear wave elastography (SWE) performed prior to biopsy, measuring mean stiffness (S) and mean stiffness ratio (R).
• Comparison of SWE parameters across different histopathologic tissues and correlation with Gleason scores.

Main Results:

• Prostate cancer was confirmed in 29.9% of patients and 7.5% of cores.
• SWE parameters (S and R) were significantly different between prostate cancer and benign tissues (p < 0.001).
• SWE demonstrated moderate accuracy for cancer diagnosis (ROC AUC 0.599 for S, 0.653 for R) and correlated with Gleason score (p ≤ 0.008).

Conclusions:

• Shear wave elastography parameters effectively differentiate prostate cancer from benign prostate tissue.
• SWE parameters correlate significantly with Gleason score, indicating potential for assessing cancer aggressiveness.
• SWE shows promise as an adjunct tool for improving prostate cancer detection and characterization.