Diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the diagnosis of breast benign and malignant lesions

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the diagnosis of breast lesions. Methods: Sixty-two cases of breast lesions, in which 33 cases were benign, and 29 were malignant, were examined with con- trast-enhanced ultrasound. The enhancement pattern, time-intensity curve and contrast parameters were analyzed to compare the differences between benign and malignant lesions. Results: Significant differences were found in homogeneity of the inten- sity, the initial enhancement time, peak time and the slope rate (all P0.05). No significant difference were found in peak in- tensity, average intensity and areas under peak～60s of the time-intensity curves. The inhomogenity of the intensity, the time from initial enhancement10s, peak time 20s and the slope rate5 were set as the indicators for malignancy. The diagnostic accuracy of B-ultrasound and color Doppler flow imaging is 88.7%, when combined with contrast-enhanced ultrasound, the di- agnostic value can be improved to 93.6%. Conclusions: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound can improve the accuracy of diagnosis for breast lesions.