High-Frequency Ultrasound and Shear Wave Elastography in Quantitative Differential Diagnosis of High-Risk and Low-Risk Basal Cell Carcinomas

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of high-frequency ultrasound and shear wave elastography (SWE) in quantitative differential diagnosis of high-risk and low-risk basal cell carcinomas (BCCs). Methods A total of 52 BCCs confirmed by surgical pathology were studied. Taking pathologic subtypes as reference, all the cases were classified as high-risk BCCs or low-risk BCCs. High-frequency ultrasound parameters and SWE parameters recorded preoperatively were retrospectively analyzed. The differences of two groups were compared. Results There were 12 high-risk BCCs and 40 low-risk BCCs. The maximum infiltration depth (MID) and average Young's modulus (E-ave) of high-risk BCCs were 5.76 +/- 2.56 mm and 31.61 +/- 12.36 kPa, whereas of low-risk BCCs were 4.29 +/- 1.77 mm and 20.04 +/- 4.74 kPa, respectively, P < .05. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of MID and E-ave were 0.714 and 0.811, P > .05. Taking 5.5 mm of MID and 24.45 kPa of E-ave as the threshold for the diagnosis of high-risk BCCs, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 58.3%, 82.5%, 76.9% and 75.0%, 82.5%, 80.8%, P > .05. Conclusions The MID and E-ave of the lesion can be used to determine the recurrence risk of BCCs and provide a reference for the development of individualized treatment plans.