Shear-wave elastography as a supplementary tool for axillary staging in patients undergoing breast cancer diagnosis

• Verfasst von: Togawa, Riku [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Riedel, Fabian [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Feißt, Manuel [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Fastner, Sarah [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Gomez, Christina [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Hennigs, André [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Nees, Juliane [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Pfob, André [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Schäfgen, Benedikt [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Stieber, Anne [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Wallwiener, Markus [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Heil, Jörg [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Golatta, Michael [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Shear-wave elastography as a supplementary tool for axillary staging in patients undergoing breast cancer diagnosis
• Verf.angabe: Riku Togawa, Fabian Riedel, Manuel Feisst, Sarah Fastner, Christina Gomez, André Hennigs, Juliane Nees, André Pfob, Benedikt Schäfgen, Anne Stieber, Markus Wallwiener, Jörg Heil and Michael Golatta
• E-Jahr: 2024
• Jahr: 07 August 2024
• Umfang: 9 S.
• Illustrationen: Illustrationen
• Fussnoten: Gesehen am 24.03.2025
• Titel Quelle: Enthalten in: Insights into imaging
• Ort Quelle: Berlin : Springer, 2010
• Jahr Quelle: 2024
• Band/Heft Quelle: 15(2024), Artikel-ID 196, Seite 1-9
• ISSN Quelle: 1869-4101
• DOI: doi:10.1186/s13244-024-01747-z
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Sach-SW: Axillary staging
• Sach-SW: Breast cancer
• Sach-SW: Shear wave elastography
• Sach-SW: Ultrasound
• K10plus-PPN: 1920404015

Abstract

Preoperative evaluation of axillary lymph node status is crucial for the selection of both systemic and surgical treatment in early breast cancer. This study assessed the particular role of additional shear wave elastography (SWE) in axillary staging in patients undergoing initial breast cancer diagnostics. Methods: One hundred patients undergoing axillary lymph node biopsy due to a sonographically suspicious axillary lymph node were prospectively evaluated with SWE using virtual touch tissue imaging quantification (VTIQ). Mean values of tissue stiffness for axillary tissue and lymph node tissue were measured prior to core-cut biopsy of the lymph node. All lymph nodes were clip-marked during the biopsy. Cut-off values to differentiate between malignant and benign lymph nodes were defined using Youden’s index. Results: Lymph nodes with evidence of malignant tumor cells in the final pathological examination showed a significantly higher velocity as measured by SWE, with a mean velocity of 3.48 ± 1.58 m/s compared to 2.33 ± 0.62 m/s of benign lymph nodes (p < 0.0001). The statistically optimal cutoff to differentiate between malignant and benign lymph nodes was 2.66 m/s with a sensitivity of 69.8% and a specificity of 87.5%. Conclusions: Lymph node metastases assessed with SWE showed significantly higher elasticity values compared to benign lymph nodes. Thus, SWE provides an additional useful and quantifiable parameter for the sonographic assessment of suspicious axillary lymph nodes in the context of pre-therapeutic axillary staging in order to differentiate between benign and metastatic processes and support the guidance of definitive biopsy work-up.