Quantitative Analysis of Shear Wave Elastography and US-Guided Diffuse Optical Tomography for Evaluating Biological Characteristics of Breast Cancer.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) and Ultrasound-guided Diffuse Optical Tomography (US-guided DOT) demonstrate promise in distinguishing between benign and malignant breast lesions. This study aims to assess the feasibility and correlation of SWE and US-guided DOT in evaluating the biological characteristics of breast cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort of 235 breast cancer patients with 238 lesions, scheduled for surgery within one to three days, underwent B-mode ultrasound (US), US-guided DOT, and SWE. Parameters such as Total Hemoglobin Concentration (THC), Maximal Elasticity (Emax ), Mean Elasticity (Emean ), Standard Deviation of Elasticity (Esd ), and Area Ratio were measured. Correlation with post-surgical pathology reports was examined to explore associations between THC, SWE Parameters, and pathology characteristics.

RESULTS: Lesions in patient groups with ER-, PR-, HER2 + , high Ki67, LVI+ , and ALN+ exhibited higher THC, Emax , and Esd compared to groups with ER+ , PR+ , HER2-, low Ki67, LVI-, and ALN-. The increase was seen in all grades of IDC-I to -III. THC significantly correlated with Smax (r = 0.340, P < 0.001), Emax (r = 0.339, P < 0.001), Emean (r = 0.201, P = 0.003), and Esd (r = 0.313, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: US-guided DOT and SWE prove valuable for the quantitative assessment of breast cancer's biological characteristics, with THC positively correlated with Emax , Emean , and Esd .