title: Value of Quantitative Three-dimensional Doppler Ultrasound in the Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Thyroid Nodules.
abstract: To investigate the role of quantitative three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler ultrasound in differentiating malignant and benign thyroid nodule.
  
  
  
  A total of 92 lesions in 86 patients were preoperatively examined using 3D power Doppler ultrasound. The Virtual Organ Computer-aided Analysis(VOCAL)-imaging program was used to analyze the stored volume ultrasound. The differences in the mean gray value (MG), vascularization index (VI), flow index(FI), and vascularization flow index (VFI) were compared between benign and malignant lesions.
  
  
  
  The MG of the malignant thyroid nodules was significantly lower than that of the benign ones (28.27±7.21 vs. 32.89±8.73,P=0.007). The benign nodules had significantly higher VI,FI,and VFI than the malignant nodules [VI:(40.43±26.55)% vs. (26.87±23.06)%,P=0.011;FI:41.03±7.19 vs. 37.51±7.17,P=0.022;VFI:18.23±14.60 vs. 11.47±12.47, P=0.009]. Also,76.5% (39/51) of the malignant nodules and 92.7% (38/41) of the benign nodules had higher VIs in the shell of the lesion than that of the whole lesion,and 80.4%(41/51) of the malignant nodules and 95.1% (39/41) of the benign nodules had higher FIs in the shell of the lesion than that of the whole lesion.
  
  
  
  Quantitative 3D power Doppler ultrasound provides a useful tool in distinguishing benign and malignant thyroid nodules. The malignant thyroid nodules have lower echoes than the benign nodules, wherese the benign nodules have larger blood flow than the malignant nodules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound,PUMC Hospital,CAMS and PUMC,Beijing 100730,China.
authors.forename: Wen-Bo
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound,PUMC Hospital,CAMS and PUMC,Beijing 100730,China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound,PUMC Hospital,CAMS and PUMC,Beijing 100730,China.
authors.forename: Yu-Xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound,PUMC Hospital,CAMS and PUMC,Beijing 100730,China.
authors.forename: Qing-Li
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound,PUMC Hospital,CAMS and PUMC,Beijing 100730,China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology,PUMC Hospital,CAMS and PUMC,Beijing 100730,China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D013959:Thyroid Diseases; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms; D016606:Thyroid Nodule; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures