Chaudhari M H, Forsberg F, Voodarla A, Saikali F N, Goonewardene S, Needleman L, Finkel G C, Goldberg B B
Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
Ultrasonics. 2000 Mar;38(1-8):105-9. doi: 10.1016/s0041-624x(99)00146-8.
Quantifiable measures of vascularity obtained from contrast enhanced color flow images were correlated with pathologic vascularity measurements in ten female patients with a solid breast mass. Each patient received Levovist Injection (Berlex Laboratories Inc., Montville, NJ). Color flow images pre- and post-contrast were obtained using an HDI 3000 unit (ATL, Bothell, WA) before removing the mass for pathologic vascularity assessments. Image-processing techniques were used to obtain both the ultrasound and pathologic vascularity measurements. Multiple linear regression found significant correlations for ultrasonic vascularity measurements post contrast and pathology (P = 0.02 and 0.06). No correlations were found between pre-contrast ultrasound and pathology. In conclusion, post-contrast ultrasonic flow measures provide a non-invasive measure of breast tumor neovascularity. However, the patient population is small, and until further patients are analyzed, these conclusions are preliminary.
