Stellate masses and histologic grades in breast cancer.
Breast masses with a radiologic stellate pattern often transform into malignancies, but their tendency to be of low histologic grade yields a better survival rate compared with tumors with other patterns on mammography screening. This study was designed to investigate the correlation of histologic grade with stellate features extracted from the coronal plane of 3-D ultrasound images. A pre-processing method was proposed to facilitate the extraction of stellate features. Extracted features were statistically measured to derive a set of indices that quantitatively represent the stellate pattern. These indices then went through a selection procedure to build proper decision trees. The splitting rules of decision trees indicated that stellate tumors are associated with low grade. A set of indices from the low grade-associated rules has the potential to represent the stellate feature. Further investigation of the hypoechoic region of peripheral tissue is essential to establishment of a complete discriminating model for tumor grades.
Cancer Research Center, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
Chin-Yuan
CY
Chang
Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
Shou-Jen
SJ
Kuo
Department of Medical Imaging, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
Hwa-Koon
HK
Wu
Department of Computer Science, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Yu-Len
YL
Huang
Cancer Research Center, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan; Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan. Electronic address: darren_chen@cch.org.tw.
Dar-Ren
DR
Chen
D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D016217:Ultrasonography, Mammary / Q000379:methods*
3-D ultrasonography; Architectural distortion; Breast cancer; Computer-aided detection; Spiculation; Stellate mass