Background: Three-dimensional sonography is a novel diagnostic method proposed to be an additional non-invasive tool in the assessment of ovarian tumors.
Objective: To study diagnostic potential of 3D sonography and power Doppler angiography in the preoperative differentiation of adnexal masses.
Material and methods: One hundred twenty-eight women with tumors thought to be of adnexal origin were examined preoperatively. Following morphological (papillae, septae, tumor size and volume) and color Doppler (PI, RI, Vmax and TAMX) assessment, 3D ultrasound of adnexal tumors according to Kurjak et al. (2000) was performed. Various scanners were used and included: ATL 5000 HDI (Phillips, USA) and Combison 530 and Voluson 730 (Kretztechnik, Austria) machines. Following variables were studied: inner wall structure, presence of papillae, thickening > 3 mm of septa as well as vascular branching pattern, number and localization of small blood vessels and the presence of vascular anastomoses.
Results: Twenty-one tumors were malignant (3 FIGO stage I) and 101 masses were benign. Power Doppler combined with 3D sonography predicted malignancy with a sensitivity of 92.6% (25 of 27 patients). Commonly used morphological and Doppler criteria produced lower sensitivity, the values being in range of 45% to 87.5%. Negative predictive value of 97.2% was the highest for 3D sonography (> 7 points in Kurjak's scale).
Conclusions: Selective use of 3D ultrasound and power Doppler angiography could be used to better characterize adnexal tumors. Detailed 3D sonography may help to identify women who, if needed, may have less invasive surgical procedure such as laparoscopy or be referred to gynecological oncologist.