Elasticity Imaging: New Ultrasound Technique, Accurately Separates Benign From Malignant Breast Lesions

Presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) are the findings that the use of elasticity imaging (a new ultrasound technique) enabled radiologists to accurately distinguish benign from malignant breast lesions.

Thus, correctly identifying both cancerous and harmless lesions in nearly all of the cases studied.

According to Richard G. Barr, M.D., Ph.D., professor of radiology at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and radiologist at Southwoods X-Ray and MRI in Youngstown:

“In our work, elasticity imaging has been found to have high specificity. If our results can be reproduced in a large, multicenter trial, this technique could significantly reduce the number of breast biopsies required.”

The standard breast cancer screening exam is mammography. For high-risk patients or women with dense breast tissue, screening with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound may be more effective.

MRI and ultrasound depict more breast lesions than mammography but have low specificity, meaning they are less effective at distinguishing benign from malignant lesions, resulting in a high number of invasive biopsies.

Like a manual abut more sensitive self exam, elasticity imaging is a modified routine ultrasound exam. Elasticity imaging is a noninvasive technique that works by gauging how much tissue moves when pushed, and it can detect how soft or stiff an object is.

Read the full RSNA Press Release.