Enhancement characterization of breast masses of contrast-enhanced ultrasound: comparison with MRI / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To assess the enhancement characteristic of breast lesions of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in comparison with contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Methods Between August 2011 and March 2013,72 women with 72 lesions were enrolled.All patients underwent ultrasound,CEUS and MRI.The histopathologic results obtained from ultrasound-guided core biopsy or operation excisions were used as the reference standard.CEUS section evaluations were made similar with MRI regarding the size and shape of lesions.Different contrast enhancement patterns including homogeneous/heterogeneous,the tumor areas,the perfusion defect areas,and modality of time-intensity curve were evaluated.Pearson's correlation coefficient,Student's t-tests,and the concordance test were used for evaluation.Results Of the 72 lesions,pathologic examination revealed 56 (77.8％) malignant lesions and 16 (22.2％) benign lesions.The tumor areas measured by CEUS and MRI agreed well,with a correlation of r =0.894,P =0.000.The difference between the two measurements was not significant according to a paired t test (P =0.886).The concordance tests gave a value of the coefficient Kappa =-0.153 (P =0.061),indicating a low concordance between the results obtained with CEUS and those obtained with MRI regarding the enhanced uniformity.There were statistically significant differences in the perfusion defect areas as measured by CEUS and MRI (P =0.01).The CEUS estimates [(0.837 ± 0.827)cm2] were consistently higher than the MRI estimates [(0.576 ± 0.524)cm2].The time-intensity curve patterns between the two groups showed no correlation.Conclusions The enhancement patterns evaluated by CEUS and MRI partly agreed well.There was no direct association between the two methods regarding the enhancement patterns because of the different contrast agent.