Assessment of Breast Lesions by Sonoelastography with Histopatho / Cytological Correlation

Introduction: Breast lesions encompass wide spectrum of pathologies, ranging from benign conditions such as fibroadenomas to malignant neoplasms like invasive ductal carcinoma. Early and accurate characterization of these lesions is critical for appropriate clinical management, timely intervention, and avoidance of unnecessary invasive procedures. Conventional B-mode ultrasonography is widely used, non-invasive imaging tool for initial evaluation of breast abnormalities. However, it has limitations, particularly in differentiating benign from malignant lesions, which can lead to false positives and unnecessary biopsies. Sonoelastography, an advanced ultrasound technique that assesses tissue stiffness, has emerged as valuable adjunct in breast imaging. Malignant lesions tend to be stiffer compared to benign ones, and elastography leverages this difference to improve diagnostic specificity. Aims and objectives: (1). To evaluate the role of sonoelastography in the characterisation of breast lesions. (2). To study added benefit of sonoelastography in differentiation of benign and malignant breast lesions with histopatho/cytological correlation. Materials and Methods: Females with complaints of pain / lump in breast referred to Department of Radiodiagnosis who have positive ultrasonography findings from period of July 2024 to July 2025 were taken. A prospective analytical study of all patients was subjected to B-mode ultrasound and sonoelastography. Histopatho/cytological results were taken as gold standard. 80 patients of age groups 20 to 70 years were evaluated. Ultrasound machine equipped with real time elastography software and Linear probe with bandwidth of 3-12 MHz for B mode ultrasound and elastography was used for US and elastography. Results: Overall breast lesions are most common in age group 31 to 40 years. Number of benign lesions decreases as age increases, highest in age groups 31- 40 years. Number of malignant lesions increases as age increases, is highest in age groups 41- 50 years. The results indicate that elastography could be as effective as conventional ultrasound in characterizing breast lesions, as it enhances diagnostic specificity and thereby reduces the false positive rate. Conclusion: Sonoelastography is a useful adjunct to conventional ultrasound, improving differentiation of benign and malignant breast lesions. Its correlation with histopathology/cytology supports its role in enhancing diagnostic accuracy and potentially reducing unnecessary biopsies.