The value of color-map virtual touch tissue imaging (CMV) in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Researchers have evaluated the virtual touch tissue imaging (VTI) value in the diagnosis of breast lesions, mostly based on gray-scale.

PURPOSE:

This study aimed to evaluate the value of color-map virtual touch tissue imaging (CMV) in the diagnosis of breast lesions.

METHODS:

We retrospectively analyzed the VTI images of 55 breast lesions in 49 female patients who underwent an examination of breast lesions in our hospital from January 2019 to December 2019. The pathological results were taken as the gold standard. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of CMV was analyzed, and its diagnostic performance was evaluated. Weighted Kappa (k) statistics were used to assess the inter-observer agreement for CMV.

RESULTS:

A total of 55 breast lesions were included, including 19 malignant lesions and 36 benign lesions. Multivariate analysis showed that patients with higher CMV scores (P = 0.014, odds ratio [OR] = 13.667, 95% confidence interval = 1.702–109.773) were independent predictors of breast cancer. The sensitivity, specificity, and the area under curve (AUC) of CMV were 94.47%, 72.22%, and 0.912. The CMV’s inter-observer agreement was almost perfect among radiologists with different work experience (k = 0.854, standard error = 0.049, 95% CI = 0.758–0.950).

CONCLUSIOS:

CMV has high accuracy and repeatability in the diagnosis of malignant breast lesions.