Pathologic analysis of supersonic shear elastography in breast invasive ductal carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To investigate the correlation between the values of shear wave elastic modulus and collagen fibers morphology and arrangement of breast invasive ductal carcinomas. Methods Thirty-five breast invasive ductal carcinomas were performed conventional ultrasound and shear wave elastography (SWE) before operation. All specimens underwent special pathological staining. The morphological characteristics and arrangement of collagen fibers were analyzed and classified. And the classification and the maximum modulus of elasticity of the tumor were compared. Results In 35 cases of breast invasive ductal carcinoma, typeⅠcollagen fiber accounted for 83% of the total collagen area. All collagen fibers exhibited morphology of long and straight, and the average elasticity of 29 cases (152.9±93.4 kPa) with collagen fibers morphology of long, straight and thin was higher than the average elasticity of 6 cases (74.8±6.4 kPa) with collagen fibers morphology of of long, straight and thick. According to the classification of collagen arrangement, 35 cases were classified to honeycomb, platelike, layered and interlaced arrangement. The average elasticity of collagen fibers with honeycomb (6 cases), platelike (10 cases), layered (11 cases), and interlaced arrangement (8 cases) was 252.2 kPa, 152.4 kPa, 120.6 kPa and 65.0 kPa respectively. The average elasticity modulus value of collagen fibers with honeycomb was the highest of other three kinds of them. Conclusion Different morphology and arrangement of collagen fibers are important causes with different stiffness in invasive ductal brseast carcinoma. Key words: Breast; Invasive ductal carcinoma; Shear wave elastography; Collagen; Pathology