Huang Xin, Ye Huarong, Hu Yugang, Lei Yumeng, Tian Yi, Huang Xingyue, Zhang Jun, Zhang Yao, Gui Bin, Liu Qianhui, Zhang Ge, Deng Qing
Department of Ultrasound Imaging, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430060, China.
Department of Medical Ultrasound, China Resources & Wisco General Hospital, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430080, China.
Cancer Imaging. 2025 Jan 7;25(1):1. doi: 10.1186/s40644-024-00819-z.
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in men worldwide. An early and accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment and prognosis. Traditional invasive procedures such as image-guided prostate biopsy often cause discomfort and complications, deterring some patients from undergoing these necessary tests. This study aimed to explore the feasibility and clinical value of using ultrasound super-resolution imaging (US SRI) for non-invasively assessing the microvessel characteristics of prostate lesion.
This study included 127 patients with prostate lesion who presented at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University between November 2023 and June 2024 were included in this study. All the patients underwent transrectal US (TRUS), contrast-enhanced US (CEUS), and US SRI. CEUS parameters of time-intensity curve (TIC): arrival time (AT), rising time (RT), time to peak (TTP), peak intensity (PKI), falling time (FT), mean transit time (MTT), ascending slope (AS), descending slope (DS), D/A slope ratio (SR), and area under the TIC (AUC). US SRI parameters: microvessel density (MVD), microvessel diameter (D), microvessel velocity (V), microvessel tortuosity (T), and fractal number (FN), were analyzed and compared between prostate benign and malignant lesion.
The tumor markers of prostate in the malignant group were all higher than those in the benign group, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). The TIC parameters of CEUS revealed that the PKI, AS, DS, and AUC were significantly higher in the malignant group than in the benign group (P < 0.001), whereas the RT, TTP and FT in the malignant group were significantly lower (P < 0.001). Malignant lesion exhibited significantly higher MVD, larger D, faster V, greater T, and more complex FN than benign lesion (P < 0.001).
US SRI is a promising non-invasive imaging modality that can provide detailed microvessel characteristics of prostate lesion, offering an advancement in the differential diagnosis for prostate lesion. And, US SRI may be a valuable tool in clinical practice with its ability to display and quantify microvessel with high precision.
前列腺癌（PCa）是全球男性癌症相关发病和死亡的主要原因。早期准确诊断对于有效治疗和预后至关重要。传统的侵入性检查，如图像引导下的前列腺活检，常常会引起不适和并发症，导致一些患者不愿接受这些必要的检查。本研究旨在探讨使用超声超分辨率成像（US SRI）非侵入性评估前列腺病变微血管特征的可行性和临床价值。
本研究纳入了2023年11月至2024年6月期间在武汉大学人民医院就诊的127例前列腺病变患者。所有患者均接受经直肠超声（TRUS）、超声造影（CEUS）和US SRI检查。分析并比较前列腺良性和恶性病变的CEUS时间强度曲线（TIC）参数：达峰时间（AT）、上升时间（RT）、峰值时间（TTP）、峰值强度（PKI）、下降时间（FT）、平均通过时间（MTT）、上升斜率（AS）、下降斜率（DS）、D/A斜率比（SR）以及TIC下面积（AUC）。US SRI参数：微血管密度（MVD）、微血管直径（D）、微血管速度（V）、微血管迂曲度（T）和分形维数（FN）。
恶性组前列腺肿瘤标志物均高于良性组，差异具有统计学意义（P < 0.001）。CEUS的TIC参数显示，恶性组的PKI、AS、DS和AUC显著高于良性组（P < 0.001），而恶性组的RT、TTP和FT显著低于良性组（P < 0.001）。恶性病变的MVD、D、V、T和FN均显著高于良性病变（P < 0.001）。
US SRI是一种有前景的非侵入性成像方式，能够提供前列腺病变详细的微血管特征，为前列腺病变的鉴别诊断带来进展。并且，US SRI能够高精度地显示和量化微血管，可能成为临床实践中的一种有价值的工具。
