title: Breast carcinomas: variations in sonoelastographic appearance.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study assessed factors influencing the sonoelastographic presentation of breast carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective collaborative study was conducted by the Santa Casa de São Paulo and CTC-Center, on 540 breast lesions in women referred for percutaneous breast biopsy. Eighty-four carcinomas showing lesions on ultrasonography were included. These lesions were classified into four sonoelastographic scores, where scores of 1, 2, and 3 were considered false-negative, and a score of 4 was considered true-positive. Scores were compared against histopathologic results, which were divided into two groups, ie, soft lesions (group 1) and hard lesions (group 2). False-negative and true-positive results were also assessed for variation according to patient age and mean lesion diameter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 84 lesions studied, nine yielded false-negative results on sonoelastography and 75 yielded true-positive results. In terms of histopathologic classification, eight were assigned to group 1 and 76 to group 2. The chi-squared test showed a correlation between sonoelastographic scores and histopathologic lesion type. No statistically significant differences were observed according to patient age or largest lesion diameter.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results revealed an association between sonoelastographic presentation of breast lesions and histology. False-negative results on sonoelastography were influenced by histologic type of lesion and not by lesion size or patient age.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Cências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo de Faria Castro
authors.initials: Ede F
authors.lastname: Fleury
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria do Carmo Guedes Alcoforado
authors.initials: Mdo C
authors.lastname: Assunção-Queiros
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Cências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Decio
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roveda
keywords: breast; carcinoma; elastography; ultrasound