The comparative analysis of two different ultrasoud elastography in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant liver tumors

Abstract

Objective To compare the diagnostic performances of real time of shear wave elastography (SWE) and strain ratio (SR) in differentiating benign and malignant liver tumors. Methods From March 2017 to August 2017, 68 patients with 70 lesions were examined with SR and SWE respectively, the parameters of SWE were maximum real-time shear wave velocity (Vmax), average real-time shear wave velocity (Vmean) and real-time shear wave velocity elasticity ratio of lesion/peripheral liver tissue (Vratio). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of SWE and SR parameters were plotted to assess the value in distinguishing benign and malignant liver tumors. The results were compared using the area under the ROC curve (AUC). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy of SWE and SR were calculated, The accuracy of the parameters with the largest AUC were compared between SWE and SR by McNemar test in differentiating focal liver lesions. Results The AUC of SR, Vmax, Vmean and Vratio were 0.948, 0.868, 0.918 and 0.956 respectively. The comparison of AUC reveals no significant difference between them. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy of SR in differentiating benign and malignant liver tumors were 92.73%, 93.33%, 92.86% respectively (P>0.05). The SWE parameter with the largest AUC was Vratio. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy of Vratio was 94.56%, 100.00%, 95.71%, respectively. The accuracy of Vratio and SR in differentiating benign and malignant liver tumors showed no significant difference (P>0.05). Conclusions The application of SWE and SR in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant liver tumors is of high diagnostic value. They provide a new method for the differential diagnosis of liver tumor lesions, and the diagnostic value of both of them is equivalent. Key words: Liver neoplasms/US; Elasticity imaging techniques; Diagnosis, differential