VALUE OF ELASTOGRAPHY IN DIFFERENTIATING BENIGN FROM MALIGNANT BREAST LESIONS KEEPING HISTOPATHOLOGY AS GOLD STANDARD

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of ultrasound elastography in differentiating benign from malignant breast lesions using histopathology as the reference standard.^1,2,3,4

Study Design: Prospective diagnostic-accuracy study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Radiology, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from 10^st September 2023 to 10^st April 2024.

Methodology: A sample of 100 women with solid breast lesions underwent conventional B-mode ultrasound and elastography before tissue diagnosis. Histopathology was treated as the reference standard.

Results: In the dataset, elastography identified 34 of 38 malignant lesions and 51 of 62 benign lesions, yielding an illustrative sensitivity of 89.5%, specificity of 82.3%, and accuracy of 85.0%.

Conclusion: Elastography may provide useful stiffness information as an adjunct to B-mode ultrasound, but it cannot replace tissue diagnosis where biopsy is clinically indicated.