Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Visually assessed colour overlay features in shear-wave elastography for breast masses: quantification and diagnostic performance

  • Breast
  • Published:
European Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

To determine whether colour overlay features can be quantified by the standard deviation (SD) of the elasticity measured in shear-wave elastography (SWE) and to evaluate the diagnostic performance for breast masses.

Methods

One hundred thirty-three breast lesions in 119 consecutive women who underwent SWE before US-guided core needle biopsy or surgical excision were analysed. SWE colour overlay features were assessed using two different colour overlay pattern classifications. Quantitative SD of the elasticity value was measured with the region of interest including the whole breast lesion.

Results

For the four-colour overlay pattern, the area under the ROC curve (Az) was 0.947; with a cutoff point between pattern 2 and 3, sensitivity and specificity were 94.4 % and 81.4 %. According to the homogeneity of the elasticity, the Az was 0.887; with a cutoff point between reasonably homogeneous and heterogeneous, sensitivity and specificity were 86.1 % and 82.5 %. For the SD of the elasticity, the Az was 0.944; with a cutoff point of 12.1, sensitivity and specificity were 88.9 % and 89.7 %. The colour overlay features showed significant correlations with the quantitative SD of the elasticity (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The colour overlay features and the SD of the elasticity in SWE showed excellent diagnostic performance and showed good correlations between them.

Key Points

Shear-wave elastography provides both qualitative and quantitative information of breast mass stiffness

Qualitative colour overlay features can be quantified to assess breast mass heterogeneity

Qualitative and quantitative elasticity features can help differentiate benign and malignant lesions

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bercoff J, Tanter M, Fink M (2004) Supersonic shear imaging: a new technique for soft tissue elasticity mapping. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control 51:396–409

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Bercoff J, Tanter M, Muller M, Fink M (2004) The role of viscosity in the impulse diffraction field of elastic waves induced by the acoustic radiation force. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control 51:1523–1536

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Athanasiou A, Tardivon A, Tanter M et al (2010) Breast lesions: quantitative elastography with supersonic shear imaging–preliminary results. Radiology 256:297–303

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Cosgrove DO, Berg WA, Dore CJ et al (2011) Shear wave elastography for breast masses is highly reproducible. Eur Radiol. doi:10.1007/s00330-011-2340-y

  5. Evans A, Whelehan P, Thomson K et al (2010) Quantitative shear wave ultrasound elastography: initial experience in solid breast masses. Breast Cancer Res 12:R104

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Chang JM, Moon WK, Cho N et al (2011) Clinical application of shear wave elastography (SWE) in the diagnosis of benign and malignant breast diseases. Breast Cancer Res Treat 129:89–97

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Berg WA, Cosgrove DO, Dore CJ et al (2012) Shear-wave elastography improves the specificity of breast US: the BE1 multinational study of 939 masses. Radiology 262:435–449

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Tanter M, Bercoff J, Athanasiou A et al (2008) Quantitative assessment of breast lesion viscoelasticity: initial clinical results using supersonic shear imaging. Ultrasound Med Biol 34:1373–1386

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Tozaki M, Fukuma E (2011) Pattern classification of ShearWave Elastography images for differential diagnosis between benign and malignant solid breast masses. Acta Radiol 52:1069–1075

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Stavros AT, Thickman D, Rapp CL, Dennis MA, Parker SH, Sisney GA (1995) Solid breast nodules: use of sonography to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions. Radiology 196:123–134

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Barr RG (2012) Sonographic breast elastography: a primer. J Ultrasound Med 31:773–783

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2011-0007602).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ji Hyun Youk.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gweon, H.M., Youk, J.H., Son, E.J. et al. Visually assessed colour overlay features in shear-wave elastography for breast masses: quantification and diagnostic performance. Eur Radiol 23, 658–663 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-012-2647-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-012-2647-3

Keywords

Navigation