Screening Breast Lesions Using Shear Modulus and Its 1-mm Shell in Sound Touch Elastography

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Oncology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Breast lesion characterization is crucial for timely diagnosis and treatment.
• Conventional imaging methods may have limitations in differentiating benign from malignant breast masses.
• Sound Touch Elastography (STE) offers a non-invasive method to assess tissue stiffness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic performance of shear modulus (G) and 1-mm shell (S) parameters in differentiating malignant from benign breast lesions using STE.
• To determine the optimal cutoff values and diagnostic accuracy metrics for individual and combined G and S parameters.
• To assess the pooled diagnostic performance of multiple STE parameters.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 209 women with breast lesions undergoing STE.
• Calculation of shear modulus (G) and 1-mm shell (S) parameters (Gmax, Gmean, Gsd, Gmin and Smax, Smean, Ssd, Smin).
• Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios; pooled analysis for overall diagnostic performance.

Main Results:

• Individual G and S parameters showed significant differences between benign and malignant lesions, except for Gmin and Smin.
• Pooled analysis of six parameters yielded a pooled sensitivity of 86% and pooled specificity of 82%.
• The area under the summary receiver operating curve (AUSROC) for the pooled parameters was 91%, indicating high diagnostic accuracy.

Conclusions:

• Shear modulus (G) and 1-mm shell (S) parameters derived from sound touch elastography are valuable for breast lesion evaluation.
• The combined use of multiple G and S parameters enhances the diagnostic efficacy in distinguishing malignant from benign breast lesions.
• STE parameters demonstrate significant potential as a supplementary tool in breast lesion assessment.