Comparison the two dimensional and three dimensional shear wave elasticity imaging in breast cancer diagnosis

Abstract

Objective To compare the two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) shear wave elastography (SWE) technology in the diagnosis of early stage breast cancer. Methods 84 patients (94 breast lesions) with breast disease confirmed by pathological examination were enrolled from December 2014 to December 2016. All patients underwent 2D and 3D color Doppler ultrasound and the relevant SWE examinations. The optimal maximum and mean elastic modulus of 2D and 3D SWE for diagnosing the benign and malignant breast lesions were obtained by the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Based on the results of pathological examinations, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 2D SWE and 3D SWE in benign and malignant breast lesions diagnosis were evaluated and compared. Results The optimal maximum and mean elastic modulus of 2D SWE for diagnosing the benign and malignant breast lesions were 98.82 kPa and 43.88 kPa respectively, while the corresponding modulus of 3D SWE were 102.54 kPa and 53.87 kPa. The sensitivity of 2D SWE and 3D SWE in breast cancer diagnosis was 89.5% and 86.3% respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The specificity and the accuracy of 2D SWE in breast cancer diagnosis were 95.3% and 92.7% respectively, which was significant higher than 83.9% and 85.1% of 3D SWE, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Conclusions The efficiency of 2D SWE examination is significantly higher than the 3D SWE in benign and malignant breast lesions diagnosis, which can provide a reliable diagnostic basis and is worthy for clinical application. Key words: Shear wave elastography; Breast cancer; Two-dimension; Three-dimension; Diagnosis