Li Ruiying, Lan Xiaofeng, Xie Xiang, Wu Jun, Hu Rui, Guo Jiale
Department of Ultrasound Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei City, 230000, Anhui Province, China.
Anhui Medical University, Hefei City, 230000, Anhui Province, China.
BMC Cancer. 2025 Apr 27;25(1):785. doi: 10.1186/s12885-025-14190-0.
To explore the diagnostic performance and feasibility of high-frame-rate contrast-enhanced ultrasound (HFR CEUS) combined with contrast vector imaging (CVI) in detecting benign and malignant superficial lymph nodes (SLNs).
In this single-center prospective study conducted between October 2023 and February 2024, 38 consecutive patients with suspected SLN lesions underwent B-mode US, HFR CEUS examination, and post-processing CVI analysis. Their diagnosis was confirmed using fine-needle aspiration cytologic or histopathologic examination. The diagnostic efficacy of HFR CEUS alone and the combination of HFR CEUS with CVI for benign and malignant LN diagnosis was compared and the significance of other CVI parameters was evaluated.
The final data set included 38 participants (mean age, 56 ± 16 years) with 42 SLN lesions. Both HFR CEUS alone and HFR CEUS combined with CVI examination showed differences in the contrast patterns of benign and malignant SLNs (all P < 0.001). The contrast pattern of benign LNs was predominantly centrifugal, while that of malignant LNs was primarily centripetal and hybrid and they were more likely to exhibit perfusion defects. The comparison between CVI combined with HFR CEUS examination and pathological results for the diagnosis of benign and malignant LNs showed a high level of consistency with a kappa value of 0.81. Comparison with HFR CEUS alone resulted in a kappa value of 0.66.
HFR CEUS combined with CVI examination demonstrated a good performance in distinguishing benign and malignant SLNs.
探讨高帧率超声造影（HFR CEUS）联合造影剂矢量成像（CVI）在检测浅表淋巴结（SLN）良恶性病变中的诊断性能及可行性。
在这项于2023年10月至2024年2月进行的单中心前瞻性研究中，38例连续的疑似SLN病变患者接受了B超、HFR CEUS检查及CVI后处理分析。通过细针穿刺细胞学或组织病理学检查确诊。比较了单独使用HFR CEUS以及HFR CEUS联合CVI对LN良恶性诊断的效能，并评估了其他CVI参数的意义。
最终数据集包括38名参与者（平均年龄56±16岁），共42个SLN病变。单独使用HFR CEUS以及HFR CEUS联合CVI检查均显示出良恶性SLN在造影模式上存在差异（所有P<0.001）。良性LN的造影模式主要为离心性，而恶性LN的造影模式主要为向心性和混合性，且更易出现灌注缺损。CVI联合HFR CEUS检查与病理结果对LN良恶性诊断的比较显示出高度一致性，kappa值为0.81。与单独使用HFR CEUS相比，kappa值为0.66。
HFR CEUS联合CVI检查在鉴别SLN良恶性方面表现良好。
