Does Shear Wave Elastography Score Over Strain Elastography in Breast Masses or Vice Versa?

Abstract

This study was done to compare parameters of strain elastography (SE) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) for differentiation of benign and malignant breast masses and determine their best cut-offs. B mode ultrasound (USG), SE, and SWE were performed in 199 breast masses. During SE, 5-point visual elastography score (SEvisual score) and strain ratio (SEstrain ratio) were obtained. During SWE, mean and maximum elasticity values in kilopascals, and shear wave ratio were obtained in two orthogonal planes. The shear wave mean average (SWEmean avg), shear wave maximum average (SWEmax avg) and shear wave ratio average (SWEratio avg) were calculated by averaging the respective values in the two planes. The SE and SWE parameters of every mass were correlated with its histopathology. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of SEvisual score, SEstrain ratio, SWEmean avg, SWEmax avg, and SWEratio avg were 0.815, 0.814, 0.846, 0.846, and 0.799, respectively. The best cut-off values that achieved the highest sensitivity and specificity for SEstrain ratio, SWEmean avg, SWEmax avg, and SWEratio avg were 3.91, 113 kPa, 123.5 kPa, and 7.32, respectively. Quantitative parameter of SE showed comparable diagnostic performance with quantitative parameters of SWE.