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Prostate cancer diagnosis: value of real-time elastography

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Abstract

It is well known that prostate cancer (PCa) has a higher cell density than the surrounding normal tissue. This increased cell density leads to an alteration in tissue elasticity, which can be measured and displayed by sonographic-based elastography under real-time conditions. Real-time sonoelastography (RTE) has been proven capable to visualize PCa areas as “hard” lesions and therefore can be used for PCa detection and for targeted ultrasound-guided biopsy. Further applications such as the assessment of local extent of PCa should be considered. This overview describes the capabilities, advantages, and limitations of this new ultrasound technique for PCa diagnosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Leo Pallwein, Fritz Aigner, Ralph Faschingbauer, Eva Pallwein, Peter Struve & Ferdinand Frauscher

  2. Department of Urology, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Germar Pinggera & Georg Bartsch

  3. Department of Pathology, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Georg Schaefer

Authors
  1. Leo Pallwein
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  2. Fritz Aigner
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  3. Ralph Faschingbauer
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  4. Eva Pallwein
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  5. Germar Pinggera
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  6. Georg Bartsch
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  7. Georg Schaefer
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  8. Peter Struve
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  9. Ferdinand Frauscher
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fritz Aigner.

Additional information

Leo Pallwein and Fritz Aigner equally contributed for this work.

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Pallwein, L., Aigner, F., Faschingbauer, R. et al. Prostate cancer diagnosis: value of real-time elastography. Abdom Imaging 33, 729–735 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-007-9345-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-007-9345-7

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