A Symptomatologic Perspective to Sonoelastography: Correlation of Compressive Sonoelastography Findings with VAS Score for Breast Cysts

Abstract

To investigate threshold values for the diameter, elasticity score and strain ratio for symptomatic breast cysts. Sonoelastography was performed prospectively to breast cysts determined by ultrasonography for consecutive patients evaluated in our breast ultrasonography unit. Just after the ultrasonography, the patients were asked to specify the severity of the pain, if any, associated with the lesion on the visual analogue scale (VAS). The longest and shortest diameters of the cyst, short/long diameter ratio, strain ratio and elasticity score obtained by ultrasonography and sonoelastography were compared with VAS scores. For symptomatic cysts (VAS≥1) to obtain the threshold values, the long and short diameter, short/long diameter ratio, elasticity score and strain ratio were analysed by receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) tests.