Evaluation of Diagnostic Accuracy of Combined Ultrasound Elastography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Breast Cancer

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of combined ultrasound elastography and magnetic resonance imaging in patients with breast cancer. Methods This was a retrospective diagnostic accuracy study. We designated 60 patients diagnosed with breast cancer between August 2021 and November 2023 as the case group, and selected 40 patients diagnosed with benign breast lesions during the same period as the control group. Both the case and control groups underwent multimodal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations. Pathological findings served as the gold standard, and a blinded evaluation was conducted to assess the diagnostic efficacy of multimodal ultrasound (strain and shear wave), MRI, and combined diagnosis for breast cancer. Results Based on the pathological findings as the gold standard, multimodal ultrasound demonstrated a sensitivity of 55.00% and specificity of 83.33% for the diagnosis of breast cancer, MRI exhibited a sensitivity of 73.17% and specificity of 81.67% and the combined diagnosis demonstrated a sensitivity of 87.80% and specificity of 96.67%. The diagnostic accuracy and specificity of combined detection exceeded those of any single detection (P<0.05). The elasticity score and strain ratio value between the lesion and normal tissue in the multimodal ultrasound of patients with benign breast tumors were significantly lower than those of patients with malignant breast tumors (P<0.05). In malignant lesions, the mean elasticity modulus, standard deviation (SD), and elasticity ratio between the lesion and normal tissue in shear wave elastography were significantly higher compared to benign lesions (P<0.05). The MRI indicators, including mean vascular density and enhancement rate, were significantly higher in patients with malignant breast lesions compared to those with benign lesions, while the peak time was notably lower in patients with benign lesions (P<0.05). Conclusion Multimodal ultrasound and MRI demonstrate good diagnostic efficacy for benign and malignant lesions of breast cancer.