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Accuracy of contrast-enhanced breast ultrasound for pre-operative tumor size assessment in patients diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast

Abstract

Our aim was to assess the feasibility and accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) of the breast with SonoVue microbubbles for pre-operative size measurement of invasive breast carcinomas. Seven patients diagnosed with nine invasive breast carcinomas prospectively underwent gray-scale ultrasound and CEUS of the breast according to a standardized protocol. CEUS of the breast was performed by a Philips iU22 scanner equipped with a 4-8 MHz linear array transducer. We used a single dose of 2.4 ml SonoVue as contrast agent. Breast lesion morphology was scored according to the sonographic BI-RADS lexicon criteria and classified accordingly. The greatest tumor dimensions on gray-scale ultrasound and CEUS of the breast were finally compared with the greatest histopathologic tumor sizes. Gray-scale ultrasound underestimated the histopathologic tumor size in 6/9 cases (67%), whereas CEUS of the breast underestimated tumor size in only 3/9 (33%) cases. CEUS of the breast was significantly more accurate for tumor size assessment. Greatest tumor dimension as measured with gray-scale ultrasound of the breast was within 2 mm of the pathologic tumor size in only 2/9 cases (22%), whereas CEUS of the breast accurately assessed tumor size within 2 mm of pathologic tumor size in 6/9 (67%) of the cases (P<0.05). CEUS of the breast proved to be a feasible and safe procedure. It is more accurate than gray-scale ultrasound of the breast for pre-operative size assessment of invasive ductal breast carcinomas.

Author

S. van Esser, W.B. Veldhuis, R. van Hillegersberg, P.J. van Diest, G. Stapper, M. ElOuamari, I.H.M. Borel Rinkes, W.P.Th.M. Mali and M.A.A.J. van den Bosch

Contact Details

Corresponding address:
M.A.A.J. van den Bosch, MD, PhD, Radiological Sciences Laboratory, Lucas MRS Imaging Center, 1201 Welch Road, Stanford, CA 94305-5488, USA

Reference

ICIS Cancer Imaging Volume 7 Issue 1
DOI: 10.1102/1470-7330.2007.0012

Date Posted

15 May 2007

Open Access is provided for this article.

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