Shear Wave Elastography-Assisted Ultrasound Breast Image Analysis and Identification of Abnormal Data

In this paper, shear wave elastography was used to study and analyze the images of the breast in-depth and identify the abnormal image data. Sixty breast lesions were evaluated, and quantitative metrics were reproducible in the static and dynamic modes of shear wave elastography with a higher interobserver agreement in dynamic qualitative metrics than in the static mode. There were no statistically significant differences between the two modes of imaging in quantitative metrics, and quantitative metrics were more effective than qualitative metrics. Postoperative immunohistochemical expression of ER, PR, HER-2, Ki-67, molecular typing, pathological type, histological grading, and axillary lymph node status of breast cancer was obtained based on pathological results. The correlation between mass size, patient age, and WiMAX values of breast cancer masses was analyzed using Pearson correlation, and the differences in SWVmax values of breast cancer masses between different expressions of immunohistochemical parameters ER, PR, HER-2, Ki-67, and axillary lymph node status were compared using tests. The variables with correlations and differences were included in the multiple linear regression analysis to assess the factors influencing the SWVmax values. The performance of TDPM, SPM, and TSPM was compared using PVA body models with different freeze-thaw cycles. The results showed that TSPM performed better than SPM in general, and TDPM showed excellent performance because of high temporal resolution and low random error, especially when the number of freeze-thaw cycles increased and the hardness of the PVA body mold increased. Measurements at different depths of inhomogeneous body models also showed that the TDPM method was less affected by depth, and the results were more stable. Finally, the reliability of the shear wave velocity (SWS) measured by the TDPM and SPM methods was investigated using porcine ligament tissue, and the results showed that the mean values of SWS goodness of fit for TDPM and SPM were 0.94 and 0.87, respectively, and the estimated elastic modulus of TDPM was very close to the mechanical test results.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer using methylene blue: a new anatomical landmark involving intercostobrachial and medial pectoral nodes

BACKGROUND Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) using blue dye is becoming popular in Indonesia given that knowledge on new anatomical landmarks involving intercostobrachial and medial pectoral nodes have replaced the need for radioisotope tracers. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of the proposed landmark involving intercostobrachial and medial pectoral nodes to determine axillary lymph node status during SLNB. METHODS A prospective study was conducted involving 55 patients with early-stage breast cancer who had clinically negative lymph nodes (T1–T2, cN0) between 2018 and 2019 at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. During SLNB, methylene blue 1% was injected at the subareolar area to identify intercostobrachial and medial pectoral nodes followed by axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Histopathological results of sentinel nodes (SNs) were then compared to those of other axillary nodes. RESULTS SNs were identified in 54 patients (98%), 33 (61%) of whom had both intercostobrachial and medial pectoral SNs. Among patients with SNs, there were 1 patient without intercostobrachial SNs, 10 patients without medial pectoral SNs, and 1 patient with medial pectoral SNs but no intercostobrachial SNs. Accordingly, SNs had a negative predictive value (NPV) of 96.77% for axillary metastasis (95% confidence interval = 81.54–99.51), with a false negative rate of 4.7%. No serious adverse events was observed. CONCLUSIONS The high identification rate and NPV, as well as the low false negative rate of the new anatomical landmark involving intercostobrachial and medial pectoral nodes during SLNB, suggest its reliability in determining axillary lymph node status.