Abstract
Purpose
Differentiation of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) from carcinoma with routine imaging methods, such as ultrasonography (US) and mammography, is difficult. Therefore, we evaluated the value of a newly developed noninvasive technique called acoustic radiation force impulse imaging in differentiating IGM versus malignant lesions in the breast.
Methods
Four hundred and eighty-six patients, who were referred to us with a presumptive diagnosis of a mass, underwent Virtual Touch tissue imaging (VTI; Siemens) and Virtual Touch tissue quantification (VTQ; Siemens) after conventional gray-scale US. US-guided percutaneous needle biopsy was then performed on 276 lesions with clinically and radiologically suspicious features. Malignant lesions (n = 122) and IGM (n = 48) were included in the final study group.
Results
There was a statistically significant difference in shear wave velocity marginal and internal values between the IGM and malignant lesions. The median marginal velocity for IGM and malignant lesions was 3.19 m/s (minimum–maximum 2.49–5.82) and 5.05 m/s (minimum–maximum 2.09–8.46), respectively (p < 0.001). The median internal velocity for IGM and malignant lesions was 2.76 m/s (minimum–maximum 1.14–4.12) and 4.79 m/s (minimum–maximum 2.12–8.02), respectively (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
The combination of VTI and VTQ as a complement to conventional US provides viscoelastic properties of tissues, and thus has the potential to increase the specificity of US.
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Teke, M., Teke, F., Alan, B. et al. Differential diagnosis of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis and breast cancer using acoustic radiation force impulse imaging. J Med Ultrasonics 44, 109–115 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-016-0749-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-016-0749-2