Does acoustic radiation force elastography improve the diagnostic capability of ultrasound in the preoperative characterization of masses of the parotid gland?

Abstract

VTQ in combination with classical ultrasound examination provides additional data useful in distinguishing between benign and malignant tumours and thus shows promise for integration into preexisting ultrasound protocols. However, despite the improvement, clear differentiation of tumours is still not possible and further investigation is recommended.

The current value of quantitative shear wave sonoelastography in parotid gland tumors

“…Regardless of the reason, we were consistently unsuccessful both in differentiating various tumor entities from one another and in distinguishing benign from malignant masses using both US devices (Table 4). These findings support and in particular augment previous results (24,29,35,(38)(39)(40), while opposing others (25,34,41,42).…”

“…The use and benefits of strain elastography and different shear wave elastography techniques in PG lesions have been assessed before, but statements diverged greatly as to whether sonoelastography in general can be considered helpful in identifying PG lesions (15,(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29). A former meta-analysis concluded that quantitative methods-as the ARFI-technique we used in this study-have provided more stable results than semi-quantitative methods (30).…”

“…Only scarce data are available on the use of ARFItechniques in PG lesions, obtained in few studies which included only a limited number of patients (29,(33)(34)(35). These articles evaluated sonoelastography as an add-on method to characterize PG masses, supplemented with other US features.…”

“…This reported discrepancy might be due to diverse sonoelastographic measurement techniques and different devices used in past studies assessing salivary glands, limiting the overall comparability of the results. For sonoelastography in salivary gland tumors, large differences were reported in specificity, ranging from 26-89% (15,(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29). A recent meta-analysis (30) concluded that quantitative and semi-quantitative methods performed better than qualitative ones, and that the sonoelastographic measurement technique was the most significant factor to cause the heterogeneity of former study results, diluting the informative value.…”

Ultrasonography techniques in the preoperative diagnosis of parotid gland tumors – an updated review of the literature

“…VTIQ includes several share wave modes such as: velocity, quality, travel time, and displacement. VTIQ in combination with routine US techniques provides additional data useful in distinguishing benign from malignant parotid tumors [41,42].…”