Breast Density Assessment in Young Women with Ultrasound based on Speed of Sound: Influence of the Menstrual Cycle
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Date
2019-06
Publication Type
Journal Article
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yes
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Abstract
To investigate changes in breast density (BD) during the menstrual cycle in young women in comparison to inter-breast and -segment changes as well as reproducibility of a novel Speed-of-Sound (SoS) Ultrasound (US) method.
SoS-US uses a conventional US system with a reflector and a software add-on to quantify SoS in the retro-mammillary, inner and outer segments of both breasts. Twenty healthy women (18–40 years) with regular menstrual cycles were scanned twice with two weeks in-between. Three of these were additionally measured twice per week for 25 days. Average SoS (m/s) and ΔSoS (segment-variation SoS; m/s) were measured. Variations between follicular and luteal phases and changes over the four-week period were assessed. Inter-examiner and inter-reader agreements were also evaluated. Variances between cycle phases, examiners and readers were compared.
No significant SoS difference was observed between follicular and luteal phases for the twenty women (P = .126), and between all different days for the three more frequently measured women (P = .892). Inter-reader (ICC = 0.999) and inter-examiner (ICC = 0.990) agreements were high. The SoS variance due to menstrual variations was not significantly larger than the inter-examiner uncertainty (P = .461). Inter-reader variations were significantly smaller than menstrual and examiner variations (P < .001).
SoS-US showed high inter-examiner and inter-reader reproducibility. The alterations during the menstrual cycles were not significantly larger than the confidence interval of measurements.
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Publication status
published
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Journal / series
Volume
98 (25)
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Event
Edition / version
Methods
Software
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Date collected
Date created
Subject
biomarker; breast density; Menstrual cycle; Speed of sound; ultrasound tomography; young females
Organisational unit
09528 - Göksel, Orçun (ehemalig) / Göksel, Orçun (former)
Notes
Funding
179116 - Imaging Soft Tissue Elasticity (SNF)