Abstract
Elastography, a non-invasive modality, provides objective information about tissue stiffness and can be used to diagnose breast tumor. However, the clinical usefulness of elastosonography is not yet clear.
To evaluate the diagnostic utility of elastography in breast tumors, the data of 71 women with 72 breast lesions evaluated using elastosonography (EUB-7500 : Hitachi Medical) from November 2006 to November 2007 were analyzed. The Tsukuba Elastography Score was used to assess the elastosonography results. There were 31 benign and 41 malignant lesions. The mean score of the benign lesions was 1.8±0.9, and the mean score of the malignant lesions was 3.7±1.3 (p<0.001). The sensitivity of elastography was 70.9%, and the specificity was 90.3%. B mode ultrasonography data obtained at the same time were also assessed ; the sensitivity of B mode was 97.6%, and specificity was 58.0%. The specificity of elastography was superior to B mode. The sensitivity of elastography was relatively higher for larger lesions, invasive carcinomas, and higher grade malignant tumors. It appears that elastosonography is very useful for diagnosing benign breast lesions and reducing the number of unnecessary biopsies.
