The role of shear wave elastography in determining molecular subtypes in breast cancer
Filiz Ağacayak1, Güzide Özdil2, Serkan İlgün3, Tural Mammadov1, Filiz Elbüken4, Gül Alço5, Zeynep Erdogan6, Filiz İzci7, Alper Öztürk8, Kezban Nur Pilancı9, Çetin Ordu10, Tomris Duymaz11, Fatma Aktepe12, Vahit Özmen3
1Department of Radiology, Istanbul Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
2Department of Radiology, Demiroglu Bilim University, Istanbul, Turkey
3Department of General Surgery, Istanbul Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
4Department of Radiology, Gayrettepe Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
5Department of Radiation Oncology, Gayrettepe Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
6Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Demiroglu Bilim University, Istanbul, Turkey
7Department of Psychiatry, Demiroglu Bilim University, Istanbul, Turkey
8Department of General Surgery, Biruni University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
9Department of Medical Oncology, Memorial Bahcelievler Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
10Department of Medical Oncology, Gayrettepe Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
11Department of Physiotherapy, Istanbul Bilgi University, Istanbul, Turkey
12Department of Mecical Pathology, Gayrettepe Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Keywords: Breast cancer, elastography, molecular subtype, shear wave, ultrasonography
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to measure with shear wave elastography (SWE) the stiffness degree, which is a phenotypic reflection of the tumor in patients with breast cancer, and to manifest how the measured value relates to prognostic factors and molecular subtypes.
Materials and methods: This study included 99 female patients (mean age 48 years; range 29 to 78 years) diagnosed with breast cancer, underwent SWE, and received treatment at the Breast Health Center of Istanbul Florence Nightingale Hospital between January 2014 and March 2016. Those excluded were the patients who previously had an operation on the same breast or axillary fossa, who had noninvasive breast cancer, and who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Results: A positively significant correlation was determined between the tumor diameter and the elastography value (p=0.001, r=0.32). There was no significant difference between elastography values of the tumors and histological type, intraductal component presence, histological grade, lymphovascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, Ki67 value, hormone receptor status, and molecular subtype.
Conclusion: In our study, it was shown that there was a positive correlation between elastography values and tumor size. No significant relationship was found between elastography values and other parameters. However, further studies with larger series may provide additional significant links.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.