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. 2023 Jan;42(1):99-108.
doi: 10.1002/jum.16096. Epub 2022 Sep 18.

Ultra-High Frequency Ultrasound in Melanoma Management: A New Combined Ultrasonographic-Histopathological Approach

Teresa Oranges  1   2 , Agata Janowska  2 , Cristian Scatena  3 , Francesco Faita  4 , Nicole Di Lascio  4 , Rossana Izzetti  3 , Cristian Fidanzi  2 , Marco Romanelli  2 , Valentina Dini  2
Affiliations

Ultra-High Frequency Ultrasound in Melanoma Management: A New Combined Ultrasonographic-Histopathological Approach

Teresa Oranges et al. J Ultrasound Med. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: The main aim of this study is to evaluate the correspondence between the ultrasonographic thickness and the Breslow thickness in melanoma using ultra-high frequency ultrasound and the intra- and inter-operator repeatability in the ultrasonographic measurements of melanoma depth. Moreover, we propose a new protocol based on a combined ultrasonographic-histopathological approach.

Methods: We analyzed 27 melanomas in a population consisted of 27 patients (mean age 57.6 years, 51.8% males), who came at the Department of Dermatology (University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy) from April 2016 to March 2018 and had an ultrasonographic examination of a suspected lesion before the surgical removal using ultra-high frequency ultrasound (Vevo®MD, Fujifilm, Visualsonics, Toronto, Canada; 70 MHz probe). B-mode images were analyzed by two skilled and blinded operators, and the maximum depth of the lesions was measured using a dedicated graphical user interface developed in Matlab R2016b (MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA), to obtain repetitive measurements.

Results: All melanomas appeared as band-like or oval/fusiform shaped hypoechoic inhomogeneous lesions. We observed an excellent agreement between the Breslow thickness of melanomas and the ultrasonographic thickness, as well as a reduced intra- and inter-operator variability in the ultrasonographic measurements of melanoma depth.

Conclusions: We propose a ultrasonographic-histopathological protocol which may help clinicians to reduce the diagnostic delay, improve prognosis and survival rates, perform a surgical excision with negative margins, and reduce the variability in the assessment of Breslow thickness.

Keywords: Breslow thickness; early diagnosis; melanoma; ultra-high frequency ultrasound; ultrasonography; ultrasound.

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