Comparative study between sonography, elasto-sonography and mammography in differentiation of solid breast lesions

Background The occurrence of breast lesions is particularly high among females of reproductive age. Over twenty-five percent of females are afflicted by breast disease. Aim To compare the role of sonography, elastosonography, and mammography in the differentiation of solid breast lesions. Patients and methods This prospective investigation involved fifty (50) female cases who presented clinically with a solid breast lesion and were referred to the Radiodiagnosis and Medical Imaging Department at Tanta University Hospital and Tanta Cancer Center from January 2022 until the end of the study. Results The ultrasound had the highest sensitivity (100%), while both mammograms and elastography had (96%). Elastography had a higher specificity (88%) than ultrasound (67%) and mammogram (46%). The positive predictive value for the diagnostic performance indices of ultrasound, mammogram, and elastography in the present investigation was 75.2%, 64%, and 88.9%, respectively. The negative predictive value for the diagnostic performance indices of ultrasound, mammogram, and elastography was 100%, 92%, and 95.7%, respectively. The accuracy was (83.5%, 71%, and 92%) for ultrasound, mammogram, and elastography, respectively. Conclusion Sonoelastography stands out among the three diagnostic performance indices in this study as it demonstrates a higher level of specificity when it comes to classifying lesions as either benign or malignant. The combined high specificity of these investigations plays a crucial role in excluding potentially malignant lesions and providing reassurance to patients. The specificity of this study in identifying malignant lesions was found to be comparable to that of histopathological analysis. The combination of mammograms, ultrasound, and elastography yields a similar level of accuracy to that of true-cut biopsy in detecting breast malignancies.