Virtual Touch tissue quantification cannot assess breast cancer lesions except for ductal carcinomas in situ and small invasive cancers: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND Virtual Touch tissue quantification (VTTQ) is a promising new technology that quantitatively determines the stiffness of tissue. However, the clinical impact of this device on the assessment of breast cancer is unclear. METHODS This study aimed to review the ultrasound records of patients with breast lesions where VTTQ was used to assess 123 normal breast tissues, 18 benign tumors, and 117 histopathologically confirmed breast cancers in a total of 129 patients. To determine the VTTQ value, a 5×5 mm region of interest was placed in the center of the area of interest, and the target lesion was measured at least three times by VTTQ. RESULTS Seventy-six percent of the malignant lesions could not be assessed using VTTQ. Among the malignant lesions, ductal carcinomas in situ (DCIS) and invasive breast cancers smaller than 1.6 cm tended to be 'measurable.' Only 17 and 1% of benign breast lesions and areas of normal breast tissue, respectively, were considered to be 'unmeasurable' (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS A breast lesion that could not be quantitatively assessed by VTTQ was suspicious for malignancy. By contrast, DCIS lesions and small invasive breast cancers tended to be 'measurable.' These findings indicate that VTTQ may be a useful application for assessing breast tumors.