Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound and Conventional Ultrasound Characteristics of Breast Cancer With Different Molecular Subtypes

Background: Identifying molecular subtypes of breast cancer (BC) is of great significance in selecting optimal treatment strategy. Different molecular subtypes of BC have various vascular distribution characteristics. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) can dynamically display the microcirculation of tumor. This study intends to explore the conventional ultrasound and CEUS characteristics of different molecular subtypes of BC. Methods: During this prospective study, 86 patients with BC who were divided into Luminal A (LA), Luminal B (LB), HER2 over-expression (H2), and triple-negative (TN). The CEUS qualitative and quantitative characteristics of BC with different molecular subtypes was explored, as well as the conventional ultrasound features. In addition, the diagnostic efficiency of CEUS quantitative parameters in differentiating molecular subtypes of BC was analyzed. Results: Our study found that the Adler grade differed significantly among 4 molecular subtypes ( P < .05). The enhancement speed, enhancement degree and size after enhancement of 4 molecular subtypes were statistically different ( P < .05). The wash in slope (WIS), peak intensity (PI), and wash-in area under the curve (WiAUC) differed significantly among 4 subtypes ( P < .05). The diagnostic efficiency of PI was better for detecting LA and H2 subtype with the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.778 and 0.734, respectively. Conclusion: Different molecular subtypes of BC have different CEUS and conventional ultrasound characteristics. CEUS can provide valuable imaging basis for precise clinical diagnosis and individualized therapy of BC with different molecular subtypes.