Ultrasound Elastography in Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Abstract

Ultrasound elastography is an established method for characterization of focal lesions in the breast. Different techniques and analyses of the images may be used for the characterization. This article addresses the use of ultrasound elastography in breast cancer diagnosis. In the first part of the article the techniques behind both strain- and shear-wave-elastography are explained and followed by a section on how to obtain adequate elastography images and measurements. In the second part of the article the application of elastography as an adjunct to B-mode ultrasound in clinical practice is described, and the potential diagnostic gains and limitations of elastography are discussed.

Zusammenfassung

Die Sonoelastografie ist eine bewährte Methode, um fokale Läsionen der Brust zu charakterisieren. Unterschiedliche Techniken und Bildanalysen können hierfür zum Einsatz kommen. Diese Publikation behandelt den Einsatz der Sonoelastografie bei der Brustkrebsdiagnostik. Im ersten Teil des Artikels werden die technischen Hintergründe von Strain- und Scherwellen-Elastografie erklärt und im darauf folgenden Abschnitt wird darauf eingegangen, wie man geeignete Elastografie-Bilder und Messungen erzielt. Der zweite Teil der Arbeit beschreibt die Anwendung der Elastografie in der klinischen Praxis zusätzlich zur B-Bild-Sonografie und diskutiert die möglichen diagnostischen Ziele und Limitationen der Elastografie.

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