A Preliminary Comparative Study of Young's Modulus Versus Shear Modulus in the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic value of Young's modulus (E) and shear modulus (G) in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast masses using sound touch elastography (STE) and to explore the relationship between G and E in breast lesions.

A total of 96 consecutive women with 110 pathologically confirmed breast masses were included. All masses were detected by conventional and STE ultrasound. Emean, Emax, Emin, ESD, Gmean, Gmax, Gmin, and GSD were determined and evaluated for evidence of significant differences between benign and malignant breast masses. Receiver operator characteristics were used to compare the diagnostic efficacy of E and G and to determine the G cutoff value that would aid in the differential diagnosis of breast cancer.

Emean, Emax, ESD, Gmean, Gmax, and GSD in cases of malignant breast masses were significantly higher than those in cases of benign masses (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between Emin and Gmin (P = 0.565). In applying the Emean, Emax, ESD, Gmean, Gmax, and GSD to the receiver operator characteristics: (1) the area under the curve (AUC) of Gmean and Gmax is greater than the AUC of Emean and Emax, and the AUC of ESD is equal to the AUC of GSD. (2) The sensitivity and specificity were highest when the Gmean was 10.14 kPa. They were 84.1% and 80.3% respectively. (3) The sensitivity and specificity were highest when the Gmax was 52.20 kPa. They were 88.6% and 87.9% respectively.

These preliminary results of STE evaluation of breast masses suggest that the diagnostic value of G is greater than E. Furthermore, STE is a valuable tool in the differential diagnosis of breast lesions.