title: Value of three dimensional power Doppler ultrasound in prediction of endometrial carcinoma in patients with postmenopausal bleeding.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether endometrial volume or power Doppler indices measured by 3-dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging can discriminate between benign and malignant endometrium in women with postmenopausal bleeding and endometrial thickness ≥5 mm.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current diagnostic accuracy study was conducted at Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital. Eighty-four patients with postmenopausal bleeding and endometrial thickness ≥5 mm underwent 3D power Doppler ultrasound examination of the corpus uteri. The endometrial volume was calculated, along with the vascularization index (VI), flow index (FI), and vascularization flow index (VFI) in the endometrium. The gold standard was the histopathological diagnosis of the endometrium.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 84 women included in the study, 56 (66.7%) had benign endometrial lesions, and 28 (33.3%) had malignant endometrial lesions. Endometrial thickness, endometrial volume, and flow indices (VI, FI, and VFI) were higher in patients with malignant endometrium than those with benign endometrium. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) of endometrial thickness was 0.83, that of endometrial volume was 0.73, and that of the best power Doppler variable, FI, was 0.93. The best logistic regression model for predicting malignancy contained the variables endometrial thickness and FI; its AUC was 0.93.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diagnostic performance of endometrial volume measured by 3D imaging with regard to discriminating between benign and malignant endometrium was not superior to that of endometrial thickness measured by 2D ultrasound examination, but 3D power Doppler flow indices are good diagnostic tools in predicting endometrial carcinoma.
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Sherif
authors: S
authors: Hanafi
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Ahmed
authors: A
authors: Abou-Gabal
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Sherif
authors: S
authors: Akl
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Heba Abd
authors: HA
authors: El Baset
keywords: 3-dimensional ultrasound; Endometrial carcinoma; postmenopausal bleeding; power Doppler