Value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of urothelial carcinoma of bladder / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of bladder urothelial carcinoma(BUC).Methods:A comparative analysis of 138 patients with bladder lesions (123 cases of BUC and 15 cases of other benign lesions) who were hospitalized in Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University from January 2019 to May 2021 were confirmed by pathology. All patients underwent two-dimensional ultrasound, color Doppler ultrasound, CEUS examination, the time intensity curve (TIC) of the region of interest(ROI) before operation was drawn, the ultrasound examination results with the pathological diagnosis results were compared and its diagnostic efficiency was analyzed.Results:Among the 138 cases of bladder lesions, 98 cases were single lesions and 40 cases were multiple lesions. In all single lesions, 95 cases were found by two-dimensional ultrasound and 3 cases were missed, while in all multiple lesions, 24 cases were found by two-dimensional ultrasound and 16 cases were missed, but all cases could be shown by CEUS. The sensitivity of CEUS to multiple bladder lesions was higher than that of two-dimensional ultrasound ( P<0.05). Besides, the differences between BUC and benign lesions in color blood flow distribution intensity and CEUS performance were significant (both P<0.05). Malignant lesions were mostly "less- to -rich" blood flow signals, and benign lesions were mainly "less- to- no" blood flow signals.In addition, in the CEUS examination, 83.7% (103/123) of BUC were high enhancement, and only 33.3% (5/15) of benign lesions were high enhancement. The diagnostic accuracy, specificity and negative predictive value of CEUS(89.9%, 46.7%, 53.8%) were higher than that of two-dimensional ultrasound(67.4%, 13.3%, 13.3%). The area under the curve, the rising slope and the peak intensity of BUC were all higher than those of benign lesions, and the differences were significant(all P<0.05), but none of them was independent risk factor for BUC ( P>0.05). Conclusions:CEUS can significantly improve the diagnostic sensitivity of bladder multiple lesions and help to improve the diagnostic accuracy of BUC, while the area under the curve, the rising slope and the peak intensity of TIC were not the independent risk factors for BUC.