Importance of Sonoelastography in Assessing Non-Thyroid Neck Masses

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Oncology
• Diagnostic Techniques

Background:

• Non-thyroid neck masses require accurate diagnosis to guide treatment.
• Conventional B-mode ultrasonography (US) has limitations in differentiating benign from malignant lesions.
• Sonoelastography (SE) offers quantitative elasticity assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and diagnostic value of sonoelastography in evaluating non-thyroid neck masses.
• To compare sonoelastography parameters with histopathological findings.
• To determine the effectiveness of SE in differentiating benign and malignant lesions.

Main Methods:

• 116 non-thyroid neck masses were evaluated using B-mode US and SE (strain ratio [SR] and elasticity score [ES]).
• Parameters included size, shape, echogenicity, and elasticity measurements.
• Results were correlated with histopathological examination for definitive diagnosis.

Main Results:

• Malignant masses exhibited significantly higher SR and ES values than benign lesions overall.
• SR was a strong predictor for differentiating benign from malignant lymph nodes (AUC 0.917).
• While SE parameters were higher in malignant parotid and submandibular lesions, differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• Strain ratio (SR) is a valuable parameter for differentiating benign and malignant lymph nodes.
• Further investigation is required to establish the efficacy of SE for parotid and submandibular gland lesions.
• SE shows potential as an adjunct diagnostic tool for non-thyroid neck masses.