Hasan Yerli1, Tuğbahan Yılmaz2, Banu Ural2, Hüseyin Gülay2

1Department of Radiology, Başkent University Zübeyde Hanım Research Center, İzmir, Turkey
2Department of General Surgery, Başkent University Zübeyde Hanım Research Center, İzmir, Turkey

Abstract

Objective: Our objective was to determine whether the use of a scoring method by sonoelastography is helpful in the differentiation of benign and malignant solid breast masses.

Material and Methods: One hundred and eighty solid breast masses in 155 patients (147 benign, 33 malignant) were prospectively evaluated in a two-year period. For each lesion, B-mode sonography and sonoelastography images were obtained. Elasticity scores of the lesions were determined with a 5-point scoring method by sonoelastography. The findings were compared with histopathology. The diagnostic performances of the sonoelastographic scoring and B-mode sonography methods were determined.

Results: The mean scores on sonoelastography were 2.61±0.62 for benign lesions and 3.73±0.69 for malignant lesions. When a cutoff point between scores 3 and 4 was used, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for B-mode sonography were found as 81%, 89%, 79%, 46% and 97%, respectively; these were 87%, 73%, 91%, 69% and 92% for the sonoelastographic scoring method.

Conclusion: After B-mode sonography analysis, the evaluation with the 5-point scoring method by sonoelastography might be a complementary method that increases specificity when differentiating between benign and malignant solid breast masses.

Keywords: Sonoelastography, breast, ultrasonography, neoplasms


 

Ethics Committee Approval

Ethics committee approval was received for this study from the ethics committee of Başkent University School of Medicine (11.05.2010, KA 10/50).

Peer Review

Externally peer-reviewed.

Author Contributions

Concept - H.Y.; Design - H.Y., T.Y., B.U., H.G.; Supervision - H.Y.; Funding - H.Y.; Materials - T.Y., B.U., H.G.; Data Collection and/or Processing - T.Y., B.U., H.G., H.Y.; Analysis and/or Interpretation - H.Y.; Literature Review - H.Y.; Writer - H.Y.; Critical Review - H.Y.

Conflict of Interest

No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

Financial Disclosure

The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.