title: Transvaginal color Doppler imaging for hemodynamic assessment of reproductive tract tumors.
abstract: Transvaginal color Doppler flow imaging was carried out on 68 Japanese women (normal, 10; uterine myoma, 21; cervical carcinoma, 7; endometrial carcinoma, 10; benign ovarian tumor, 12; ovarian carcinoma, 8). Blood flow velocity waveforms were evaluated by calculation of the resistance index (RI). In 6 patients with cervical carcinoma neovascularization was evident within the cervix. In all patients with endometrial carcinoma such signs were present adjacent to and/or within the endometrium. These findings were absent in normal women and in those with myomata. There was a significant difference between the RI (0.510 +/- 0.097) in patients with cervical carcinoma and in normal women (0.881 +/- 0.048) in the ascending branch. In endometrial carcinoma the RI (0.535 +/- 0.158) was significantly lower in the arcuate artery compared to the normal uterus (0.768 +/- 0.075) and patients with uterine myoma (0.679 +/- 0.131), respectively. There was no area of neovascularization in the normal ovaries. Neovascularization was confirmed in four patients with a benign ovarian tumor and in all patients with an ovarian carcinoma. A significantly lower RI was obtained in cases of ovarian carcinoma (0.503 +/- 0.122) than in patients with benign ovarian tumors (0.888 +/- 0.216). Transvaginal color Doppler imaging and pulsed Doppler analysis may be useful diagnostic tools to differentiate benign and malignant tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shimane Medical University, Izumo, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hata
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Makihara
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hata
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitao
mesh_terms: D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000098:blood supply; D006801:Humans; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014465:Ultrasonics; D014463:Ultrasonography