Comparative analysis of ultrasonic elastosonography and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in the diagnosis of benign and malignant intraocular tumors

Purpose To compare the diagnostic value of ultrasonic elastosonography (UE) and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) for benign and malignant intraocular tumors. Methods This retrospective study enrolled patients with intraocular tumors at Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University (August 2016 to January 2020). The strain rate ratio (strain rate of tumor tissue divided by strain rate of surrounding normal tissue) was measured by UE. CEUS was performed using SonoVue® contrast agent. The performance of each method at differentiating benign from malignant intraocular tumors was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results The analysis included 147 eyes in 145 patients (45.6 ± 13.4 years-old; 66 males): 117 patients (119 eyes) with malignant tumors and 28 patients (28 eyes) with benign tumors. At an optimal cutoff of 22.67 for the strain rate ratio, UE distinguished benign from malignant tumors with a sensitivity of 86.6% and a specificity of 96.4%. CEUS showed that 117 eyes with malignant tumors had a fast-in, fast-out time-intensity curve, and only two eyes with malignant tumors had a fast-in, slow-out curve, while all 28 eyes with benign tumors had a fast-in, slow-out curve. CEUS differentiated benign from malignant tumors with a sensitivity of 98.3% and a specificity of 100%. The diagnostic results differed significantly between the two methods ( P = 0.004, McNemar test). The diagnostic performances of the two tests were moderately consistent (κ = 0.657, P < 0.001). Conclusion Both CEUS and UE have good diagnostic value in the differentiation of benign intraocular tumors from malignant intraocular tumors.