Malignant Cervical Lymph Nodes Research Articles

Role of Sonoelastography in Differentiating Benign From Malignant Cervical Lymph Nodes and Correlating With Pathology.

Background and aimCombined use of ultrasonography and elastography improves diagnostic efficacy in differentiating benign from malignant cervical lymph nodes, thereby helping in treatment planning and reducing unnecessary fine needle aspiration cytology/ biopsy. This study aimed to correlate B-mode ultrasonography, color Doppler imaging, and elastography findings with pathological findings and to calculate sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography and elastography.Material and methodsPatients underwent ultrasonography (B-mode and color Doppler imaging) followed by elastography. Lymph node morphology on B-mode was assessed based on short axis diameter, short-to-long axis ratio, fatty hilum, echogenicity, and margin. Vascularity of lymph nodes on color Doppler imaging was divided into three patterns. On elastography, lymph nodes were defined based on elastography pattern and strain index.ResultsAmong all ultrasonography parameters, fatty hilum was found to have the highest diagnostic accuracy (73%), followed by vascularity pattern (70%). Combined use of all ultrasonography parameters yielded better sensitivity (90%), specificity (88%), and diagnostic accuracy (89%) than individual parameters. Five-scale elastography pattern had 83% sensitivity, 97% specificity, and 89% diagnostic accuracy. In the current study, the use of strain index cut-off of two showed sensitivity of 93%, specificity of 96%, and diagnostic accuracy of 94%. Together, ultrasonography and elastography achieved sensitivity of 96%, specificity of 94%, and diagnostic accuracy of 95%.ConclusionElastography can be a useful adjunct to ultrasonography for the accurate diagnosis of cervical lymphadenopathy. Elastography pattern and cut-off strain index of two can effectively differentiate benign from malignant cervical lymph nodes.

Value of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound for Evaluation of Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in distinguishing between benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes (LNs) in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Two hundred and one cervical LNs (157 metastatic from PTC and 44 benign) were evaluated using conventional ultrasonography (US) and CEUS before biopsy or surgery. Histopathology was used as the gold standard. We evaluated the size, long axis/short axis ratio (L/S), fatty hilum, hyper-echogenicity, calcification, cystic change, peripheral vascularity and CEUS parameters for each lymph nodule. The CEUS parameters included enhancement type, homogeneity, perfusion type, ring enhancement, peak intensity (PI) index and area under the curve (AUC) index. Univariate analysis demonstrated that compared with benign LNs, malignant LNs more frequently had L/S < 2, absence of a fatty hilum, presence of hyper-echogenicity, presence of calcification, peripheral vascularity, hyper-enhancement, heterogeneous enhancement, centripetal perfusion, ring enhancement, PI index > 1 and AUC index > 1 on preoperative US and CEUS. Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that hyper-enhancement, centripetal perfusion, and ring enhancement are independent CEUS characteristics related to malignant LNs for their differentiation from benign LNs (all p < 0.05). Our study indicated that preoperative CEUS characteristics may serve as a useful tool to identify malignant cervical LNs from benign cervical LNs.

Role of Sonoelastography for Differentiating Benign and Malignant Cervical Lymph Nodes: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Cervical nodes form one of the major groups of Lymph Nodes (LN) that are frequently involved in inflammatory and neoplastic diseases. Metastasis causes the most apparent change in consistency of the node among the various nodal pathologies. Ultrasound elastography provides an estimate of tissue consistency by measuring the degree of distortion under the application of an external force. Aim: To estimate the diagnostic accuracy of sonoelastography in the differentiation of malignant and benign cervical LN with fine needle aspiration cytology/biopsy considered as a gold standard. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from March 2020 to January 2021 in a tertiary care hospital in south India, a total of 50 patients with cervical lymphadenopathy underwent ultrasonography followed by elastography of superficial neck LN using high frequency linear transducer by freehand technique. The ultrasound characteristics of selected LN were determined and colour elastogram pattern was assessed using colour mapping elastography. The chi-square test was performed. Sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) were obtained. The results were then compared to the fine needle aspiration cytology. Results: A total of 50 subjects(median age of 40.5±18.71 years ; 19 (38%) males and 31 (62%) females). The grayscale and colour Doppler features of cervical LN which helped predict malignancy were short axis ≥8 mm, S:L axis ratio ≥0.5, absence of normal central fatty hilum, abnormal echogenicity, lobulated border, presence of calcification and peripheral/mixed vascularity. With reference to the above variables of cervical LN characterisation on grayscale, colour doppler ultrasound and sonoelastography findings, elastography pattern was the most promising variable to differentiate malignant from benign cervical LN with 95.2% sensitivity, 75.0% specificity, 95.2% PPV, 75.0% NPV and 92.0% accuracy. Conclusion: Sonoelastography is useful in the assessment of elastic properties of cervical LN with short examination time required, real-time display, immediate interpretation and limited cost. Sonoelastography had higher diagnostic accuracy than gray scale and doppler ultrasound in differentiating benign from malignant cervical LN. Sonoelastography is an effective supplement to conventional gray scale and colour doppler ultrasound and that the combination is clinically recommended for a more accurate diagnosis of metastatic LN.

Comparative Evaluation of Cell Block Histopathology and Conventional Smear Cytology in FNAC of Clinically Suspected Cervical Lymph Node Malignancy

Introduction: Cervical lymphadenopathy is a common clinical presentation in various departments of clinical practice. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is usually the first choice to diagnose superficial cervical lymphadenopathy. However, FNAC sometimes does not yield information for precise diagnosis, and the risk of false-negative and indeterminate diagnosis is always present. In order to overcome these problems, cell block technique has been resorted to make the best use of the available material. Objective: The aim of this article is to evaluate whether there are any diagnostic advantages of cell block histopathology over conventional smear cytology by corroborating with excisional biopsy. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study with cross-sectional design was performed among 106 cases with clinical suspicion of malignancy. FNAC was performed without anesthesia, and the aspirated material was flushed on slides and then fixed immediately. The remaining materials were processed into cell blocks followed by HE staining. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS (IBM Statistics, Version 20.0, SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA) statistical software. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee, and informed consent was taken from all the participants before the procedure. Results: Out of the 106 cases, 101 (95.28%) cases were diagnosed as malignant lesions and 5 (4.72%) cases diagnosed as non-malignant lesions. The majority of the patients were in the 40–59 year age group and were males. The sensitivity of cytology to provide specific diagnosis in malignant lesions was 90.57%, whereas those of cell block histopathology and cell block histopathology with cytology were 94.34% and 98.11%, respectively. Conclusion: Cell block as an adjunct to FNAC can be a useful diagnostic technique in cervical lymphadenopathy. Compared with FNAC, it gives more accurate diagnostic architecture and apparent histopathological features.

Evaluation of ultrasonographic findings in adults with cervical lymphadenopathy

ackground and aim: It is very important to distinguish benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes and to make an early diagnosis in terms of treatment and prognosis. Ultrasonography (USG) provides an idea in the diagnosis of reactive or non-reactive lymph nodes but also provides benefits in the differential diagnosis of malignant and benign. It is easily accessible, has high-resolution probes, is inexpensive, does not contain radiation, and serves as a guide in aspiration biopsy when necessary. Although fineneedle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has a high degree of sensitivity and specificity in evaluating cervical lymph nodes, in 20% of patients it may give an ambiguous report that does not contribute to treatment. In this study, ultrasonographic findings of patients with cervical LAP diagnosed with FNAC were evaluated. The value of ultrasonographic examination in diagnosing diseases was emphasized. Materials and methods: In this study, ultrasonographic findings of 178 patients diagnosed with cervical lymphadenopathy by performing FNAC were examined. Ultrasonographic findings, shape, echogenic hilum, nodal matting, L/S ratio and intranodal necrosis characteristics of cervical nodes were evaluated and compared with FNAC diagnoses. Results: It was found statistically significant between a reactive node and ultrasonographic oval shape, metastasis and L/S ratio, presence of echogenic hilus and reactive node, nodal matting finding and tuberculosis (p&lt;0.05). Although the presence of necrosis was detected at a higher rate in metastasis and tuberculosis than lymphoma and reactive node, it was not found to be statistically significant (p&gt;0.05). Conclusion: It is thought that B-mode ultrasonography, which has high specificity and sensitivity, is a successful imaging method and can be used frequently in the differential diagnosis of diseases in all patients presenting with cervical lymphadenopathy. In this way, unnecessary biopsy, excision and further examination examinations are prevented. Keywords: cervical lenfadenopathy; ultrasonographic findings; adults.

Diagnostic performance of quantitative and qualitative elastography for the differentiation of benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background:Studies have shown inconsistent results regarding the diagnostic performance of quantitative and qualitative elastography for the differentiation of benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes. This meta-analysis aimed to estimate the diagnostic performance of ultrasound elastography in patients with cervical lymphadenopathy.Methods:We will search PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Chinese biomedical databases from their inceptions to the May 30, 2021, without language restrictions. Two authors will independently carry out searching literature records, scanning titles and abstracts, full texts, collecting data, and assessing risk of bias. Review Manager 5.2 and Stata14.0 software will be used for data analysis.Results:This systematic review will determine the accuracy of shear wave elastography and strain elastography in the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes.Conclusion:Its findings will provide helpful evidence for the accuracy of shear wave elastography and strain elastography in the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes.Systematic review registration:INPLASY202150109.

Efficacy of logistic regression model based on multiparametric ultrasound in assessment of cervical lymphadenopathy - a retrospective study.

To investigate whether a multiparametric ultrasound (MPUS) diagnostic model improves differential diagnosis of benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes. MPUS evaluation was performed on 87 lesions in 86 patients, and related characteristics and parameters of the patients and lesions were studied and logistic regression models based on the MPUS characteristics of cervical lymph nodes were built. A receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve (AUC) were built for the evaluation of diagnostic performances. Of the 87 lesions in 86 patients, there were 31 benign and 56 malignant lesions. Regression models for Duplex ultrasound and MPUS were established. The Duplex ultrasound regression model showed a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 94.4, 61.3, 86.3 and 80.9%, respectively. The predictive accuracy was 82.4%, and the AUC was 0.861. The MPUS regression model showed a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 98.1, 61.3, 81.5 and 95.0%, respectively. The predictive accuracy was 84.7%, and the AUC was 0.894. The differences in AUCs between the Duplex ultrasound model and MPUS model, ultrasound model and ultrasonic elastography (UE), and Duplex ultrasound and UE were not significant (all p > 0.05); the differences in AUCs between the MPUS model and Duplex ultrasound, Duplex ultrasound model and Duplex ultrasound, and MPUS model and UE were significant (all p < 0.05). The Duplex ultrasound and MPUS models achieve significantly higher diagnostic performance for differentiating between benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes.

THE EFFICACY OF CLINICAL EXAMINATION, ULTRASONOGRAPHY AND CT SCAN IN DETECTING MALIGNANT LYMPH NODES OF THE NECK IN ORAL CANCER AND CONFIRMATION WITH FINAL HISTOPATHOLOGY REPORT

To evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracy of detecting malignant cervical lymph nodes using Clinical evaluation, CT scan and Ultrasonography and conrmation with histopathology in patients with squamous cell carcinoma. Atotal number of 30 patients, of both sexes, with carcinoma of different regions of the oral cavity, conrmed with incisional biopsy were included in this study. We found USG to be most sensitive (83.5%), followed by CT (78.3%) and clinical evaluation (63.7%). Similarly, CT scan was found to be most specic (81.5%), followed by USG (78.2%) and clinical evaluation (60.7%).

Diagnostic value of supersonic shear impulse elastography for malignant cervical lymph nodes: a Bayesian analysis.

PurposeThis study aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of supersonic impulse (SSI) elastography in differentiating malignant and benign cervical lymph nodes.MethodsThe Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Central databases were searched until December 1, 2020. Two different reviewers checked the studies and extracted the data. The diagnostic yields were quantitatively synthesized using a Bayesian bivariate model with an integrated nested Laplace approximation in R.ResultsIn total, 590 patients with 892 cervical lymph nodes who underwent SSI elastography were included. The total prevalence of malignancy was 33.7% (301/892), and the four elastic modulus values (mean, maximum, minimum, and standard deviation) were significantly different between malignant and benign lymph nodes. For the mean elastic modulus, the summary estimates for sensitivity and specificity were 0.720 (95% credible interval [CrI], 0.592 to 0.824) and 0.877 (95% CrI, 0.727 to 0.969), respectively. The estimated area under the curve (AUC) was 0.845 (95% CrI, 0.672 to 0.914). For the maximum elastic modulus, the sensitivity and specificity were estimated to be 0.809 (95% CrI, 0.698 to 0.899) and 0.816 (95% CrI, 0.643 to 0.924), respectively. The estimated AUC was 0.834 (95% CrI, 0.579 to 0.938). The minimum and standard deviation of the elastic modulus and the outcomes of the positive and negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio, and risk difference were also calculated.ConclusionSSI elastography is an acceptable imaging technique for diagnosing malignant cervical lymph nodes, and it can play a complementary role today. Both maximum and mean elastic modulus values should be taken into consideration to make a clinical judgment.

Evaluation of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging in Differentiating Benign and Malignant Cervical Lymphadenopathy.

Background:The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic role of acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI) in differentiating benign and malignant cervical nodes.Methods:This was a diagnostic accuracy cross-sectional study. All patients who underwent ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of cervical nodes were included. Patients without FNAC/biopsy and patients in whom cervical nodes were cystic or completely necrotic were excluded. FNAC was used as reference investigation to predict the diagnostic accuracy. In all cases, FNAC was carried out after the B-mode, color Doppler and the ARFI imaging. In patients with multiple cervical lymph nodes, the most suspicious node based on grayscale findings was chosen for ARFI. ARFI included Virtual Touch imaging (VTI), area ratio (AR), and shear wave velocity (SWV) for each node, and the results were compared with FNAC/biopsy.Results:The final analysis included 166 patients. Dark VTI elastograms had sensitivity and specificity of 86.2% and 72.1%, respectively, in identifying malignant nodes. Sensitivity and specificity of AR were 71.3% and 82.3%, respectively, for a cutoff of 1.155. Median SWV of benign and malignant nodes was 1.9 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.56–2.55] m/s and 6.7 (95% CI, 2.87–9.10) m/s, respectively. SWV >2.68 m/s helped in identifying malignant nodes with 81% specificity, 81.6% sensitivity, and 81.3% accuracy. ARFI was found to be inaccurate in tuberculous and lymphomatous nodes.Conclusion:Malignant nodes had significantly darker elastograms, higher AR and SWV compared to benign nodes, and SWV was the most accurate parameter. ARFI accurately identifies malignant nodes, hence could potentially avoid unwarranted biopsy.

A Prospective Observational Study to Determine the Correlation of Clinical, Ultrasonography, and Pathological Examination of Cervical Lymph Nodal Staging in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Oral cancer is one of the most common cancers in our population. These cancers are drained by the nodes located in the cervical region which are easily accessible for clinical examination. However, these cervical nodes may also be enlarged due to various other nonmalignant causes. Hence, accuracy of clinical examination and ultrasound screening for cervical lymph nodes is invaluable. The aims of this study are (1) to correlate the clinical, radiological, and pathological results of cervical lymph nodes in patients with oral malignancy and (2) to calculate the accuracy of clinical and radiological methods in detecting malignant cervical lymph nodes. A prospective observational study was undertaken from January 2016 to December 2016 amounting to a total of 76 patients. All patients diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and having a palpable neck node(s), who were planned for surgery were included. Clinical examination, ultrasonographic (USG) screening of the neck, and the final histopathology reports were noted. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) for radiological screening by ultrasound were 90.5%, 90.9%, 79.2%, and 96.2%, respectively, and that for clinical examination were 61.9%, 69.1%, 43.3%, and 82.6%, respectively. Area under the curve (AUC) for ultrasound screening was 0.907, and the AUC for clinical examination was 0.655. Ultrasonography is a reliable, cost-effective imaging method in the assessment of malignant cervical nodes in patients with oral cancer, which is to be used along with clinical palpation for improving the accuracy of clinical staging and surgical planning preoperatively.

Ultrasound Elastography in the Diagnosis of Malignant Cervical Lymphadenopathy in Children: Can It Replace Surgical Biopsy?

We aimed to assess the accuracy of ultrasound elastography in detecting pediatric malignant cervical lymph nodes, and if this modality can obviate the need for surgical biopsies. A prospective study from September 2017 to September 2020 included 64 children with persistent cervical lymphadenopathy. Patients were evaluated by meticulous history and physical assessment. B-mode ultrasound, color Doppler, and sonoelastography were conducted thereafter. Elastography scans were classified into five patterns, and patterns from 3 to 5 were considered as malignancies. All children underwent open biopsies followed by pathological examination. Results of tissue diagnosis were compared with patterns of elastography to determine its accuracy. Twenty-eight patients (43.8%) had malignant nodes and the remaining 36 (56.2%) were due to benign causes. Elastography patterns of 1 and 2 were documented in 30 patients, and all of them were diagnosed as benign lesions. Patterns of 3 to 5 were demonstrated in 34 patients. Out of them, 28 were confirmed as malignancies, while 6 children were of benign nature (false positive). Ultrasound elastography achieved sensitivity and specificity of 100 and 85.7%, respectively, and an overall accuracy of 90.6% in the differentiation between malignant and benign entities. The overall accuracy of B-mode and color Doppler were 75 and 82.2%, respectively. Elastography is a useful tool that should be added to ultrasound modalities during the diagnosis of pediatric cervical lymphadenopathy. Surgical biopsy in eligible patients is imperative to commence proper therapy or to discharge the child. Despite favorable results of elastography, it cannot replace surgical biopsy or change its indications.

Application of multimodal ultrasonography for differentiating benign and malignant cervical lymphadenopathy.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of multimodal ultrasonography, including SWE and CEUS, for the differentiation of benign and malignant cervical lymphadenopathy. A total of 103 patients with 109 enlarged neck lymph nodes underwent SWE and CEUS. There were 25 hyperplastic lymph nodes, 66 metastatic lymph nodes, and 18 cases of lymphoma. Using 31.6 kPa as the Emax cutoff, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of measurements on both benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes were 55.95%, 96%, and 65.2%, respectively. CEUS showed that lymph nodes with reactive hyperplasia mainly exhibited uniform perfusion via the lymphatic hilum (18/25; 72%; P < 0.01). The main manifestation of lymphoma was uniform perfusion through the lymphatic hila (10/18; 55.6%; P < 0.01). Metastatic lymph nodes mainly exhibited uneven perfusion (57/66; 86.4%; P < 0.01). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of multimodal ultrasonography for the diagnosis of benign and malignant cervical lymphadenopathies were 90.5%, 72%, and 86.2%, respectively. Our findings suggest that multimodal ultrasonography can detect the stiffness (elasticity), perfusion pattern, and characteristics of lymph nodes and is a valuable tool for differentiating between benign and malignant lymphadenopathies.

English

BACKGROUND Grey scale ultrasonography can be used as a first line imaging modality along with histopathology for evaluation of cervical lymphadenopathy. Morphologic features like size, shape, hilum and necrosis within the lymph node and vascularity are analysed. We wanted to identify the role of Grey scale ultrasonography and colour Doppler in characterisation of enlarged cervical lymph nodes, evaluate findings in benign and malignant cervical lymphadenopathy and assess the sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, likelihood ratios and accuracy in malignant and benign cervical lymph node enlargement. METHODS This was a cross sectional study with diagnostic test evaluation. All suspected cases of cervical lymphadenopathy referred for sonological evaluation to the Department of Radiodiagnosis of Govt. T.D. Medical College, Alappuzha were included in the study. About 75 patients included in the study, underwent Grey scale and colour Doppler sonography of cervical lymphadenopathy. RESULTS When three criteria were positive for malignancy, the sensitivity and specificity of grey scale ultrasonography and colour Doppler were 100 % and 73.80 %, and when four criteria were positive, the sensitivity and specificity were 72.73 %, and 90.48 % respectively. When we analysed individual variables, status of hilum (absence / presence) has reasonably good sensitivity and specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy (90.09 %, 92.90 %, 90.09 %, 92.90 % and 92.0 % respectively). In our study the important criteria positive for malignant lymph nodes were size &gt; / 11 mm in short axis diameter, round shape, absent hilum and peripheral and central + peripheral type of vascularity of cervical lymph nodes. For benign lymph nodes, oval shape, presence of hilum and central vascularity were the important criteria noted. CONCLUSIONS Grey scale ultrasonography can be complemented by colour Doppler ultrasonography (USG) in patients presenting with cervical lymphadenopathy to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions by reducing unnecessary biopsies by more accurate discrimination. KEY WORDS Grey Scale Ultrasonography, Malignant, Benign Lymph Nodes, Histopathology

A nomogram for predicting the risk of neck node metastasis in oral cavity carcinoma using acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI)

BackgroundThe study was conducted to assess the accuracy power of Acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI) and generate a nomogram using ultrasound and ARFI to predict malignant cervical lymph nodes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Material and methods374 cervical lymph nodes from 67 patients were evaluated. The B-mode ultrasonography and the elastography findings were compared with the final histopathological diagnosis. Radiological variables were used to construct nomogram and clinical utility of the nomogram was cross-validated. ResultsIn univariate analysis, status of the hilum, Long Axis Diameter, Short axis diameter, colour virtual touch imaging grade (VTI) and shear wave velocity were significant in predicting metastasis in the cervical lymph nodes. In multivariable analysis, it was found that predominance of red over yellow area on colour VTI was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis. A multiple logistic regression performed to ascertain the effects of on the likelihood that patients had lymph node metastasis on histopathology was statistically significant, χ2(10) = 44.96, p < 0.001. The model was able to correctly classify 93.28% of cases and the concordance index (c-index) was estimated to be 0.8773. A nomogram was thus established to predict metastasis in cervical lymph nodes. ConclusionsARFI increases the diagnostic accuracy of conventional USG in predicting metastatic lymph nodes in HNSCC. Adding the constructed nomogram to the conventional diagnostic pathway can provide an alternative option to frozen section and FNAC.

Estimation of Accuracy of B-Mode Sonography and Elastography in Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Lymph Nodes With Cytology as Reference Standard: A Prospective Study.

Purpose: To prospectively estimate the reliability of B-mode ultrasonography and sonoelastography in differentiating benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes with cytological findings as to the reference standard.Materials and Methods: A total of 50 patients referred for sonography for enlarged cervical lymph nodes were included in the study. They were subjected initially to B-mode ultrasonography and sonoelastography and later underwent fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the same sitting. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were compared.Results: Out of 50 cases, 33 were males, and 17 were females. On B-mode ultrasonography, 15 enlarged cervical lymph nodes were benign-looking and 35 were malignant-looking. When studied on elastography, 12 were benign-looking and 38 showed features of malignancy. However, when studied histopathologically, 18 were benign and 32 were malignant. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy were compared, and the results were better in sonoelastography than B-mode ultrasonography. When both B-mode and sonoelastography were combined, an increase in the sensitivity for differentiation was achieved. However, a decrease in specificity was noted when both modalities were combined in our study, probably due to a significant number of patients with tuberculous cervical lymphadenopathy.Conclusion: In countries like India, where granulomatous infection like tuberculosis is prevalent, the combination of sonoelastography with B-mode ultrasonography has decreased specificity in the differentiation of benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes, and histopathology is always needed for the final confirmation of diagnosis. The decreased specificity on elastography is attributed to simultaneous coexisting inflammation and fibrosis in chronic granulomatous lymphadenopathy.

A vivid way of differentiating benign and malig-nant cervical lymph node through b-mode ultrasonography and sonoelastography

Cervical lymphadenopathy is not a diagnosis but it is a sign or symp-tom. The etiology could be inflammatory or degenerative or neoplastic. Cervical lymph node evaluation plays a vital role in patients with head and neck cancers because the results determine the prognosis and choice of therapy. Ultrasonography can be used to assess the mor-phology, site, number, size and vascularity of cervical lymph node. However, the ultrasound criteria for metastatic lymph nodes are con-troversial. Sonoelastography is a novel imaging modality introduced as a non-invasive technique for evaluating cervical lymph nodes and to map the elastic properties of examined soft tissue. Neck lymph nodes are easily accessible and can be efficiently compressed against under-lying anatomical structures, with use of an ultrasound transducer for elastographic tissue characterization. The detail about the rigidity of a lymph node gives us the direction for percutaneous biopsy and nodal dissection under ultrasound guidance. Use of this information can also improve patient follow-up by enabling detection of cancer recurrence at an early stage. The study aims to differentiate benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes by observing the morphology, vascular Pattern and strain ratio cut-off value. In this trial 40 patients with cervical lym-phadenopathy were studied and the study concluded that Ultrasound elastography is a specific test unlike B-mode ultrasonography in dif-ferentiating benign and malignant cervical lymphadenopathy. The strain ratio cut-off value for benign vs malignant lymphadenopathy is 1.78. Thus Sonoelastography along with B-mode ultrasound increases the rate of detection of malignancy.

B-mode ultrasound, color Doppler, and sonoelastography in differentiation between benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes with special emphasis on sonoelastography

BackgroundEnlarged cervical lymph nodes are the most commonly encountered neck lumps. Ultrasonography is the most extensively used tool for classification of superficial lymph nodes due to its availability and low cost. Ultrasound (US) elastography refers to a non-invasive imaging technique that can describe tissue displacement (i.e., strain) or stiffness in response to a given force.The aim of this study is to compare between B-mode sonography, color Doppler, and sonoelastography in assessment of enlarged deep cervical lymph nodes.ResultsThe prevalence of benign lymph nodes was 26 out of 84 (31%). Lymphomatous lymph nodes were 22/84 (26.2%), while metastatic lymph nodes were 36/84 (42.8%). Color Doppler evaluation of nodal vascular pattern was of high sensitivity (91.7%), specificity (80.8%), and accuracy (88.6%) for differentiating metastatic and benign nodes (P value was < 0.001). There was a significant difference between elasticity scores of benign and malignant lymph nodes (P < 0.001). The most frequent score in the malignant group was 3 (21/27) (77.8%) while the most frequent score in the benign group was 2 (5/11) (45.5%). The mean strain ratio (strain index) for malignant lymph nodes (mean 3.2 ± 0.8) was significantly greater than that for benign lymph nodes (mean 1.1 ± 0.8).ConclusionUltrasound elastography with its high sensitivity and specificity is a helpful improvement in US for the assessment of cervical lymph nodes, in which biopsies should be performed.

Evaluation of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant lateral cervical lymph nodes

Objective: To investigate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the diagnosis of benign and malignant lateral cervical lymph nodes. Methods: One hundred and fifteen cases of suspected lymph nodes disease, 60 males, 55 females, between November 2018 and June 2019 from clinic and inpatient in Fujian Cancer Hospital were collected. Routine ultrasound and CEUS were performed in 115 cases of lateral cervical lymph nodes. All cases underwent ultrasound-guided biopsy, and were divided into two groups of benign and malignant lymph nodes according to pathological results. The differences between the two groups were analyzed and statistically analyzed. The rate and frequency were used to qualitatively describe the ultrasound performance and observed lymph node morphology between the two groups of routine ultrasound and CEUS. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, negative predictive value and positive predictive value were used to evaluate the efficacy of routine ultrasound and CEUS. Results: There were 37 cases of benign lymph nodes and 78 cases of malignant lymph nodes. In benign lymph nodes, 51.4% (19/37) showed uniform high enhancement, and 48.6% (18/37) showed uneven or circular enhancement with clear boundaries and no focal enhancement area. In malignant lymph nodes, 94.9% (74/78) showed uneven enhancement, and only 5.1% (4/78) showed uniform enhancement. The difference of ultrasonic contrast medium uniformities in differentiating benign from malignant was statistically significant (P<0.001). The sensitivity, accuracy, negative predictive value and positive predictive value of routine ultrasound to differentiate benign and malignant lymph nodes were 64.1%, 65.2%, 47.2%, and 66.7%, respectively, while the corresponding values of CEUS were 93.6%, 75.7%, 73.7% and 83.9%. Conclusion: CEUS may provide a valuable basis for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant lateral cervical lymph nodes.

Role of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) in the Diagnosis of Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) Patients.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in distinguishing between benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Material and Methods: A total of 144 NPC patients with enlarged superficial cervical lymph nodes underwent CEUS examination. The comparison of CEUS image characteristics between malignant and benign cervical lymph nodes was performed in this study as well. We analyzed parameters of the time–intensity curve (TIC), which includes time to peak (TP), area under the gamma curve (AUC), and peak intensity (PI). Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was also investigated to evaluate the diagnostic value of CEUS.Result: We conducted 144 lymph node examinations in total, where 64 cases were biopsy-proven benign nodules and 80 cases were biopsy-proven metastatic nodules. The vast majority of the benign nodes displayed centrifugal perfusion (96.88%, 62/64) and homogeneous enhancement (93.75%, 60/64), while most of the malignant nodes showed centripetal perfusion (92.50%, 74/80) and inhomogeneous 80.00% (64/80). In addition, quantitative analysis showed that CEUS parameters including PI, TP, and AUC in benign lymph nodes (12.51 ± 2.15, 23.79 ± 11.80, and 1110.33 ± 286.17, respectively) were significantly higher than that in the malignant nodes (10.51 ± 2.98, 16.52 ± 6.95, and 784.09 ± 340.24, respectively). The assistance of the three aforementioned parameters and CEUS image characteristics would result in an acceptable diagnostic value.Conclusion: Our results suggest that imaging perfusion patterns as well as quantitative parameters obtained from CEUS provide valuable information for the evaluation of cervical lymph nodes in NPC patients.