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Introduction: Ultrasound (US) scanning is one of the primary modalities in diagnostic imaging of the head and neck region. Shear wave elastography (SWE) is an ultrasound technique that facilitates objective measurements of the stiffness of the examined tissues. Additional data obtained from SWE can increase the diagnostic value of ultrasound scans in clinical practice.Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of SWE examinations as performed in patients with head and neck tumor in the period of 2021 through 2022 is presented. The obtained SWE measurements were referenced against the results of histopathological or cytological examinations.Results: SWE scans were acquired in 101 patients. In 62 patients, major salivary gland lesions were examined to reveal 7 malignant neoplasms, 49 benign neoplasms, and 6 inflammatory lesions. Lymph nodes were examined in 31 patients to reveal 11 cases of reactive lymph nodes, 12 metastases of malignant neoplasms, and 8 cases of lymphoma. Eight tumors of other nature and location were also examined to reveal 2 malignant neoplasms, 5 benign neoplasms, and 1 inflammatory infiltrate within the area of large vessels. Based on the results, SWE was concluded to be a useful tool for differentiation between metastatic and reactive lymph nodes. In salivary gland lesions, the measurements of tissue stiffness are particularly useful in the differential diagnosis of the most common non-malignant tumors.Conclusions: Shear wave elastography is a valuable adjunct to ultrasound imaging. Further studies on a larger group of patients with diverse pathologies are required to identify cutoff points for tissue stiffness coefficients for different types of lesions.
Molga-Magusiak et al. (Wed,) studied this question.