Combined diagnosis of ultrasonic elastography and BI-RADS classification increases diagnostic value in female patients with breast neoplasms.

OBJECTIVE

This study was designed to investigate the clinical value of ultrasonic elastography combined with the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) classification in patients with breast neoplasms.

METHODS

A retrospective observational study was conducted on 89 patients with breast neoplasms hospitalized from June 2017 to June 2018. All the enrolled patients had received ultrasound examinations. The diagnostic value of ultrasonic elastography, BI-RADS classification, and the combined diagnosis for breast neoplasms was analyzed.

RESULTS

The postoperative pathological examination showed 51 cases of benign lesions and 38 cases of malignant lesions among the 89 cases. The detection of the focal zone revealed 75 benign and 44 malignant lesions. Ultrasonic elastography misdiagnosed 8 malignant lesions as benign and 17 benign lesions as malignant; BI-RADS classification misdiagnosed 7 malignant lesions as benign and 15 benign lesions as malignant; The combined diagnosis misdiagnosed 2 malignant lesions as benign and 4 benign lesions as malignant. The sensitivity of the combined diagnosis was higher than that of ultrasonic elastography (P<0.05). The specificity and positive- and negative predictive values of the combined diagnosis were all higher than those of ultrasonic elastography and BI-RADS classification (all P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Ultrasonic elastography combined with BI-RADS classification has high clinical application value in the diagnosis of breast neoplasms, especially the sensitivity to benign and malignant lesions. And compared with the mono-detection of either ultrasonic elastography or BI-RADS classification, the combined detection yields significantly higher diagnostic accuracy.