Color Doppler Ultrasonography for Prediction of Malig
nant Ovarian Thmors
MONGKOL BENJAPIBAL, M.D.*, PRASERT SUNSANEEVITAY AKUL, M.D.*,
DITTAKARN BORIBOONHIRUNSARN, M.D.*, ANUWAT SUTANTHAVIBUL,M.D.*,
MANOCH CHAKORNGOWIT, M.D.*
Affiliation : *Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700,
Thailand.
AbstractThe purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate whether the pulsatility index
determined by the color Doppler sonography could be used to distinguish between benign and
malignant ovarian tumors. A total of 120 patients who had their ovarian tumors removed surgically
at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol Uni
versity were included in the study. Each patient had color Doppler sonography performed prior to
laparotomy. The Doppler results were compared to the histological diagnosis of the ovarian tumors.
Of the 113 patients whose intratumoral blood flow could be evaluated, the pulsatility index was
significantly lower in malignant lesions than in benign lesions (0.85 ± 0.46 vs 1.63 ± 0.64, p<0.001).
The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the pre-operative pulsatility index (s;l.O) in detecting
malignant ovarian tumors were 82.9 per cent, 80.8 per cent, and 81.4 per cent, respectively; with
65.9 per cent positive predictive value, 91.3 per cent negative predictive value, 19.2 per cent false
positive rate, and 17.1 per cent false negative rate. The present results suggest that color Doppler
sonography may be a useful clinical tool in the pre-operative evaluation of ovarian masses. How
ever, the pulsatility indexes showed considerable overlap between benign and malignant lesions,
indicating that color Doppler sonography has limitations in the differentiation of benign from malig
nant ovarian masses. The cost of the equipment and experience requirement also limits its use in
general gynecologic practice.
Keywords : Color Doppler Ultrasonography, Pulsatility Index, Ovarian Tumor
All Articles
Download
