Value of ultrasonic shear wave elastography combined with vascularization-flow index in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors in the elderly

Background: The study aimed to investigate the value of ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) combined with vascularization-flow index (VFI) in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors in the elderly. Methods: A retrospective analysis and examination of 122 elderly patients with breast tumors (54 benign and 68 malignant) admitted to our hospital from January 2021 to November 2023 was conducted using SWE and Color Doppler ultrasound (CDU) index. Using postoperative pathological examination results, the SWE index, CDU index, SWE classification and the diagnostic efficacy of the combined examination were compared between both groups. Different diagnostic methods were further compared using receiver operating characteristic curves. Results: The maximum elasticity, mean elasticity, minimum elasticity, AveT1, AveR, Ratio1, Fibrosis Index (FI), Vascular Index (VI) and VFI indexes in the malignant group were significantly higher than those in the benign group (p < 0.05). Compared to the benign group, the proportion of classification 1 was significantly lower in the malignant group. The proportion of classifications 4, 5 and 6 in the malignant group was significantly higher (p < 0.05). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that the largest area under the ROC curve of the combination of both was 0.935; for both, the difference was significant when compared to a single diagnosis (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Breast tumors can be diagnosed more effectively using SWE integrated with CDU than with SWE alone. Breast tumor clinical diagnosis can be improved when SWE and CDU are combined.