Intra- and Interobserver Variability of Shear Wave Elastography in Rectal Cancer
Background: Endorectal ultrasound (ERUS) is an important tool when evaluating complex rectal adenomas and rectal cancer, and the accuracy is improved by adding elastography measurements. A high interobserver agreement is imperative in clinical practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evalua...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Cancers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/14/11/2633 |
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| author | Martina Kastrup Loft Malene Roland Vils Pedersen Peter Grimm Andreas Hoffmann Lauritzen Claus Dam Søren Rafael Rafaelsen |
| author_facet | Martina Kastrup Loft Malene Roland Vils Pedersen Peter Grimm Andreas Hoffmann Lauritzen Claus Dam Søren Rafael Rafaelsen |
| author_sort | Martina Kastrup Loft |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Endorectal ultrasound (ERUS) is an important tool when evaluating complex rectal adenomas and rectal cancer, and the accuracy is improved by adding elastography measurements. A high interobserver agreement is imperative in clinical practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate interobserver agreement assessed on real-time images. Additionally, we investigated the intra- and interobserver agreement between experienced and inexperienced observers. Materials and methods: We prospectively included patients referred to an ERUS at the Department of Radiology with a complex rectal polyp or suspected rectal malignancy. Two operators independently scanned each patient in turn. Furthermore, four observers assessed previously obtained images using three different methods for placing the region of interest (ROI). Three months later, the four observers reassessed the images to assess intraobserver variability. Results: A total of 19 patients were included for live assessment. Agreement of tumor classification was substantial for T stage (kappa: 0.86) and fair for N stage (kappa: 0.73), with an absolute agreement for T and N stages of 84% and 89%, respectively. Agreement of SWE was good for Emean (ICC 0.94, 95% CI 0.86–0.98) and fair for Emax (ICC 0.85, 95% CI 0.66–0.94). Intra- and interobserver agreement between inexperienced and experienced observers showed good to excellent agreement with all ROI methods. Conclusion: Interobserver agreement is high in SWE when performed in a clinical setting. We found the best agreement using the mean value of several ROIs. Intra- and interobserver agreement was high regardless of operator experience. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:28:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e1c919a6ebc140f09a2bdfe63dcd4068 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6694 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:28:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cancers |
| spelling | doaj.art-e1c919a6ebc140f09a2bdfe63dcd40682023-11-23T13:48:33ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942022-05-011411263310.3390/cancers14112633Intra- and Interobserver Variability of Shear Wave Elastography in Rectal CancerMartina Kastrup Loft0Malene Roland Vils Pedersen1Peter Grimm2Andreas Hoffmann Lauritzen3Claus Dam4Søren Rafael Rafaelsen5Department of Radiology, Lillebaelt Hospital, Clinical Cancer Centre, University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Beriderbakken 4, 7100 Vejle, DenmarkDepartment of Radiology, Lillebaelt Hospital, Clinical Cancer Centre, University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Beriderbakken 4, 7100 Vejle, DenmarkDepartment of Radiology, Lillebaelt Hospital, Clinical Cancer Centre, University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Beriderbakken 4, 7100 Vejle, DenmarkDepartment of Radiology, Lillebaelt Hospital, Clinical Cancer Centre, University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Beriderbakken 4, 7100 Vejle, DenmarkDepartment of Radiology, Lillebaelt Hospital, Clinical Cancer Centre, University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Beriderbakken 4, 7100 Vejle, DenmarkDepartment of Radiology, Lillebaelt Hospital, Clinical Cancer Centre, University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Beriderbakken 4, 7100 Vejle, DenmarkBackground: Endorectal ultrasound (ERUS) is an important tool when evaluating complex rectal adenomas and rectal cancer, and the accuracy is improved by adding elastography measurements. A high interobserver agreement is imperative in clinical practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate interobserver agreement assessed on real-time images. Additionally, we investigated the intra- and interobserver agreement between experienced and inexperienced observers. Materials and methods: We prospectively included patients referred to an ERUS at the Department of Radiology with a complex rectal polyp or suspected rectal malignancy. Two operators independently scanned each patient in turn. Furthermore, four observers assessed previously obtained images using three different methods for placing the region of interest (ROI). Three months later, the four observers reassessed the images to assess intraobserver variability. Results: A total of 19 patients were included for live assessment. Agreement of tumor classification was substantial for T stage (kappa: 0.86) and fair for N stage (kappa: 0.73), with an absolute agreement for T and N stages of 84% and 89%, respectively. Agreement of SWE was good for Emean (ICC 0.94, 95% CI 0.86–0.98) and fair for Emax (ICC 0.85, 95% CI 0.66–0.94). Intra- and interobserver agreement between inexperienced and experienced observers showed good to excellent agreement with all ROI methods. Conclusion: Interobserver agreement is high in SWE when performed in a clinical setting. We found the best agreement using the mean value of several ROIs. Intra- and interobserver agreement was high regardless of operator experience.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/14/11/2633shear wave elastographyultrasoundrectal neoplasmsinterobserverreproducibility |
| spellingShingle | Martina Kastrup Loft Malene Roland Vils Pedersen Peter Grimm Andreas Hoffmann Lauritzen Claus Dam Søren Rafael Rafaelsen Intra- and Interobserver Variability of Shear Wave Elastography in Rectal Cancer Cancers shear wave elastography ultrasound rectal neoplasms interobserver reproducibility |
| title | Intra- and Interobserver Variability of Shear Wave Elastography in Rectal Cancer |
| title_full | Intra- and Interobserver Variability of Shear Wave Elastography in Rectal Cancer |
| title_fullStr | Intra- and Interobserver Variability of Shear Wave Elastography in Rectal Cancer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intra- and Interobserver Variability of Shear Wave Elastography in Rectal Cancer |
| title_short | Intra- and Interobserver Variability of Shear Wave Elastography in Rectal Cancer |
| title_sort | intra and interobserver variability of shear wave elastography in rectal cancer |
| topic | shear wave elastography ultrasound rectal neoplasms interobserver reproducibility |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/14/11/2633 |
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