| Title | Real-time Ultrasound Elastography in the Differential Diagnosis of Benign and Malignant Thyroid Nodules. | | Author(s) | Hong Y, Liu X, Li Z, Zhang X, Chen M, Luo Z | | Institution | Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Rd, Hangzhou, 310009 Zhejiang, China., xueming-liu@126.com. | | Source | J Ultrasound Med 2009 Jul; 28(7):861-7. | | Abstract | OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of real-time ultrasound elastography in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid nodules.
METHODS: A total of 90 consecutive patients with thyroid nodules who were referred for surgical treatment were examined in this prospective study. One hundred forty-five nodules in these patients were examined by B-mode ultrasound, color Doppler ultrasound, and ultrasound elastography. The final diagnosis was obtained from histologic findings. Tissue stiffness on ultrasound elastography was scored from 1 (low stiffness over the entire nodule) to 6 (high stiffness over the entire nodule and surrounding tissue).
RESULTS: On real-time ultrasound elastography, 86 of 96 benign nodules (90%) had a score of 1 to 3, whereas 43 of 49 malignant nodules (88%) had a score of 4 to 6 (P <.001), with sensitivity of 88%, specificity of 90%, a positive predictive value of 81%, and a negative predictive value of 93%. The predictivity of ultrasound elastographic measurement was independent of the nodule size. High sensitivity (88%) and specificity (93%) were also observed in 68 nodules that had a greatest diameter of 1 cm or less.
CONCLUSIONS: Real-time ultrasound elastography is a promising imaging technique that is useful in the differential diagnosis of thyroid cancer. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 19546328 |
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