Abstract:
Objective To investigate the application value of ultrasound elastography (UE) combined with serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 12 (ADAM12) and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) in the diagnosis of breast cancer and their correlations with clinicopathological features.
Methods A total of 120 patients with breast cancer were selected as study group, and another 120 patients with benign breast lesions during the same period were selected as control group. The UE scores and serum levels of CEA, ADAM12, and CA125 were compared between the two groups. The correlations of UE scores with serum levels of CEA, ADAM12 and CA125 in the study group was analyzed. The UE scores and serum levels of CEA, ADAM12 and CA125 were compared among patients with different pathological features in the study group. The correlation of UE scores, serum levels of CEA, ADAM12 and CA125, with the pathological features of breast cancer were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to evaluate the value of UE scores and serum levels of CEA, ADAM12 and CA125 in the individual and combined diagnosis of breast cancer.
Results The UE scores and serum levels of CEA, ADAM12 and CA125 in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The UE scores in the study group were positively correlated with the serum levels of CEA, ADAM12 and CA125 (P < 0.05). There were significant differences in the UE scores and serum levels of CEA, ADAM12, and CA125 among patients with different clinical stages and those with or without lymph node metastasis in the study group (P < 0.05). The UE scores and serum levels of CEA, ADAM12 and CA125 were positively correlated with the clinical stage and lymph node metastasis of breast cancer (P < 0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) for the combined diagnosis of breast cancer by UE scores, CEA, ADAM12 and CA125 was 0.918, which was significantly larger than that for the individual diagnosis (P < 0.05).
Conclusion The UE scores and serum levels of CEA, ADAM12 and CA125 are positively correlated with the clinical stage and lymph node metastasis of breast cancer. The combined application of these four indicators can significantly improve the diagnostic efficacy for breast cancer.