[Doppler ultrasound studies of breast tumors with the continuous wave technique]

The aim of the study was to ascertain the reliability of continuous-wave Doppler signals in the diagnosis of breast cancer. CW-Doppler findings in a series of 63 cases of palpable breast tumors with histologic confirmation (24 malignancies and 39 benign tumors) are reported. Depending on the parameters used -20 -24 of 24 malignant nodes (83%-100%) and 20 -24 of 39 benign lesions (51%-62%) were correctly identified. Even benign tumors showed significant differences in systolic peak and diastolic frequencies compared to the contralateral breast. The Resistance-Index (RI) did not allow the differentiation of lesions when measured on one side only. Comparing the Resistance-Indices of both breasts helped improving the specificity of CW-Doppler-sonography to 89.7% and the positive predictive value to 73.3%. The CW-Doppler-sonography with the relevant parameters of diastolic and systolic peak frequency and the RI is considered a useful tool in the diagnosis of breast cancer.