Intra‐ and Interobserver Reliability of Shear Wave Elastography in Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Abstract

ObjectivesShear wave elastography (SWE) is increasingly used in breast cancer diagnostics. However, large, prospective, multicenter data evaluating the reliability of SWE is missing. We evaluated the intra‐ and interobserver reliability of SWE in patients with breast lesions categorized as BIRADS 3 or 4.MethodsWe used data of 1288 women at 12 institutions in 7 countries with breast lesions categorized as BIRADS 3 to 4 who underwent conventional B‐mode ultrasound and SWE. 1243 (96.5%) women had three repetitive conventional B‐mode ultrasounds as well as SWE measurements performed by a board‐certified senior physician. 375 of 1288 (29.1%) women received an additional ultrasound examination with B‐mode and SWE by a second physician. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to examine intra‐ and interobserver reliability.ResultsICC for intraobserver reliability showed an excellent correlation with ICC >0.9, while interobserver reliability was moderate with ICC of 0.7. There were no clinically significant differences in intraobserver reliability when SWE was performed in lesions categorized as BI‐RADS 3 or 4 as well as in histopathologically benign or malignant lesions.ConclusionReliability of additional SWE was evaluated on a study cohort consisting of 1288 breast lesions categorized as BI‐RADS 3 and 4. SWE shows an excellent intraobserver reliability and a moderate interobserver reliability in the evaluation of solid breast masses.