Tumor stiffness measured by shear-wave elastography: association with disease-free survival in women with early-stage breast cancer

• Published in: British journal of radiology 2021-12, Vol.94 (1128), p.20210584-20210584
• Main Authors: Kim, Jin You, Kim, Jin Joo, Hwangbo, Lee, Suh, Hie Bum, Lee, Ji Won, Lee, Nam Kyung, Choo, Ki Seok, Kim, Suk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Breast - diagnostic imaging; Breast - pathology; Breast Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Disease-Free Survival; Elasticity Imaging Techniques - methods; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Retrospective Studies
• ISSN: 0007-1285; 1748-880X
• DOI: 10.1259/bjr.20210584

To determine whether shear-wave elastography (SWE)-measured tumor stiffness is associated with disease-free survival in females with early-stage invasive breast cancer. This retrospective study included 202 consecutive females (mean age, 52.9 years; range, 25-84 years) with newly diagnosed T1-two breast cancer who underwent preoperative SWE between April 2015 and January 2016. Tumor stiffness was assessed and quantitative SWE features of each breast lesion were obtained by a breast radiologist. Cox proportional hazard models were used to identify associations between SWE features and disease-free survival after adjusting for clinicopathologic factors. Fifteen (7.4%) patients exhibited recurrence after a median follow-up of 56 months. Mean (Emean), minimum, and maximum elasticity values were higher in females with recurrence than in those without recurrence (184.4, 138.3, and 210.5 kPa 134.9, 101.7, and 159.8 kPa, respectively; = 0.005, = 0.005, and = 0.012, respectively). Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis for prediction of recurrence showed that Emean yielded the largest area under the curve (0.717) among the quantitative SWE parameters, and the optimal cut-off value was 121.7 kPa. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that higher Emean (>121.7 kPa) [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 10.01; 95% CI: 1.31-76.33; = 0.026] and lymphovascular invasion (adjusted HR, 7.72; 95% CI: 1.74-34.26; = 0.007) were associated with worse disease-free survival outcomes. Higher SWE-measured Emean was associated with worse disease-free survival in females with early-stage invasive breast cancer. Tumor stiffness assessed with shear-wave elastography might serve as a quantitative imaging biomarker of disease-free survival in females with T1-two breast cancer.