title: Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography of peripheral soft-tissue tumors: Feasibility study and preliminary results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography, to differentiate benign and malignant soft-tissue tumors and to assess the feasibility and interest of modelling enhancement curves.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study includes 118 patients with soft-tissue tumors, examined with ultrasound after injection of SonoVue(®), a contrast product. The raw data were treated with CHI-Q acquisition software to model the enhancement curves. We analyzed tumor uptake of the contrast product visually and studied the enhancement curves, characterized by five parameters: peak intensity, time to peak, mean transit time, initial slope, and area under the curve.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 81 benign and 37 malignant tumors. For a diagnosis of benign tumor, the absence of contrast uptake had a sensitivity of 60%, a specificity of 68%, a positive predictive value of 50% and a negative predictive of 83%. Study of the 70 curves obtained (48 benign and 22 malignant tumors) showed that the parameters of area under the curve (Chi(2)=8.6 and P<0.005), slope (Chi(2)=8.12 and P=0.004), and peak intensity (Chi(2)=7.55, P=0.005) differed significantly between the two populations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Absence of contrast uptake suggests a benign lesion. The study of enhancement curves showed significant differences between the different tumor populations.
authors.affiliation: Guilloz Imaging Department, Nancy University Hospital-Central Hospital, Nancy, France. frederique.gay1@gmail.com
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gay
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pierucci
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lecocq-Teixeira
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blum
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003287:Contrast Media; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010743:Phospholipids; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013459:Sulfur Hexafluoride; D014463:Ultrasonography; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D010743:Phospholipids; C420843:contrast agent BR1; D013459:Sulfur Hexafluoride