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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Ultrasounds with elastography may provide a noninvasive, convenient and cheaper alternative to biopsies in identifying skin cancers as either malignant or benign.
Experts say dermatologists tend to biopsy any suspicious skin lesions to avoid risking an undetected cancer. Many of these unnecessary biopsies detect benign lesions. High-frequency ultrasound with elastography has the potential to improve the efficiency of skin cancer diagnosis," Eliot L. Siegel, M.D., vice chairman of the Department of Radiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and lead author of the study, was quoted as saying. It successfully delineated the extent of lesions and was able to provide measurable differentiation among a variety of benign and malignant lesions."
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Elastography distinguishes between the lesions by their stiffness. Malignant lesions are stiffer than benign growths.
Ultrasounds may aid doctors in improved treatment, providing accurate depth of the lesion below the surface. The visualized portion of a skin lesion can be just the tip of the iceberg, and most dermatologists operate 'blindly' beyond what they can see on the surface," Siegel was quoted as saying. High frequency ultrasound provides almost microscopic resolution and enables us to get size, shape and extent of the lesion prior to biopsy."
The American cancer society reports that Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, will kill 11,590 Americans in 2009 from 68,720 American cases this year. With early detection, melanoma is very curable. Researchers say new imaging techniques such as the special ultrasounds could prevent unnecessary deaths.
Siegel's study used ultrasounds to image 40 patients with benign or malignant skin cancers, then used a laboratory diagnosis to confirm their results.
SOURCE: Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, December 1, 2009
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