Estimation of Effectiveness of Lymphoma Treatment with Damage of Peripheral Lymph Nodes Using Ultrasonic Study with Contrast Enhancement

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the possibilities of ultrasound examination with contrast enhancement (CEUS) in assessing the effectiveness of treatment of patients with specific lesions of peripheral lymph nodes with lymphoproliferative lesions.Material and methods: To assess the capabilities of CEUS in assessing the effectiveness of treatment, a study was carried out for 15 patients with lesions of peripheral lymph nodes in lymphoma in dynamics before the treatment and after 2 or 3 courses of chemotherapy using a contrast agent SonoVue® in a volume of 4.8 ml. The results of the study were analyzed and compared with traditional ultrasound techniques. Ultrasound examination was performed using Siemens Acuson S2000 and Philips Affiniti 70 devices with high-frequency linear transducers from 5 to 12 MHz.Results: CEUS revealed a significant increase in the TTP parameter from 27 ± 12 s to 36 ± 13 s (p = 0.0496) and a significant decrease in the PI parameter from 9 ± 5 dB to 4 ± 3dB (p = 0.00047).Conclusions: CEUS at any stage of the treatment seems to be promising since it allows diagnosing of structural changes in the affected lymph nodes even after one cycle of chemotherapy.