Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore the value of real-time shear wave elastography (SWE) parameter modulus of elasticity in the diagnosis of axillary lymph node metastasis of breast cancer. A total of 240 breast cancer patients were selected for SWE examination, all patients underwent surgical resection and axillary lymph node (ALN) resection. The SWE images of the ALN positive group showed sclerosing sign, black hole sign, uneven distribution of the lesion elasticity, non-uniform abnormal color inside the lesion, and red of color hardness spectrum were significantly higher than those of the ALN negative group (P<0.05). The maximum value of elastic modulus (E_max), mean value of elastic modulus (E_mean), standard deviation (SD) and ratio of the average elastic modulus (E_ratio) in the ALN positive group were significantly higher than those in the ALN negative group (P<0.05). The results of Logistic regression analysis showed that non-uniform abnormal color inside the lesion, E_max, E_mean and E_ratio were the influencing factors for ALN metastasis in breast cancer patients (P<0.05). The value of the elastic modulus of SWE parameter has a certain diagnostic value in ALN metastasis of breast cancer, which is worth clinical use.

Key words: breast cancer, axillary lymph nodes, metastasis, real-time shear wave elastography