Diagnostic value of shear wave elastography combined with super microvascular imaging for BI-RADS 3-5 nodules

Background: To investigate the diagnostic value of shear wave elastography (SWE) and super microvascular imaging (SMI) integrated with the traditional ultrasound breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS) classification in differentiating between benign and malignant breast nodules. Methods: For analysis, 88 patients with 110 breast nodules assessed as BI-RADS 3-5 by conventional ultrasound were selected. SWE and SMI evaluations were conducted separately, and all nodules were verified as benign or malignant ones by pathology. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted after obtaining quantitative parameters of different shear waves of nodules, including maximum (Emax), mean (Emean), minimum (Emin) Young's modulus, modulus standard deviation (SD), and modulus ratio (Eratio). The best cut-off value, specificity, sensitivity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) for diagnosing malignant nodules employing Emax were obtained, and the diagnostic value of combining Emax and BI-RADS classification was compared. SMI graded nodule based on the Alder blood flow grading standard, whereas the BI-RADS classification was based on microvascular morphology. We assessed the diagnostic value of SMI for breast nodules and investigated the diagnostic efficacy of SWE combined with SMI in differentiating benign and malignant breast nodules with BI-RADS classification 3-5. Results: The adjusted the BI-RADS classification using SMI and SWE technologies promoted the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of discriminating benign and malignant breast nodules (P < 0.05). The combination of traditional ultrasound BI-RADS classification with SWE and SMI technologies offered high sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV for identifying benign and malignant breast lesions. Moreover, combining SWE and SMI technologies with the adjusted BI-RADS classificationhad the best diagnostic efficacy for distinguishing benign and malignant breast nodules with BI-RADS 3-5. Conclusion: The combination of SWE and SMI with the adjusted BI-RADS classification is a promising diagnostic method for differentiating benign and malignant breast nodules.