Open AccessTomoelastography for non-invasive detection of ameloblastoma and metastatic neck lymph nodes
Author(s) -
Marie Beier,
Ingolf Sack,
Benedicta BeckBroichsitter,
Bernd Hamm,
Stephan Rodrigo Marticorena Garcia
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
bmj case reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.231
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 1757-790X
DOI - 10.1136/bcr-2020-235930
Subject(s) - medicine , ameloblastoma , lymph , cervical lymph nodes , mandible (arthropod mouthpart) , stiffness , pathology , metastasis , radiology , anatomy , maxilla , cancer , biology , botany , structural engineering , genus , engineering
Ameloblastoma is a benign epithelial tumour and the most common odontogenic tumour, accounting for about 18% of cases. We present a patient to illustrate the first use of tomoelastography for quantitatively mapping tissue stiffness (shear wave speed) and fluidity (loss angle of the complex shear modulus) in a metastasised ameloblastoma of the left mandible. Tomoelastography maps clearly depicted the extent of the tumour by abnormally high values of stiffness and fluidity (1.73±0.23 m/s, 1.18±0.08 rad) compared with normal values in the contralateral mandible (1.04±0.09 m/s, 0.93±0.12 rad). Abnormal stiffness also revealed metastatic involvement of the neck lymph nodes (1.30±0.03 m/s vs 0.86±0.01 m/s). Taken together, stiffness and fluidity measured by tomoelastography can sensitively detect the presence and extent of bone tumours and metastatic spread to cervical lymph nodes.