Double contrast-enhanced ultrasonography improves diagnostic accuracy of T staging compared with multi-detector computed tomography in gastric cancer patients

Abstract

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer (GC) is the most common malignant tumor and ranks third for cancer-related deaths among the worldwide. The disease poses a serious public health problem in China, ranking fifth for incidence and third for mortality. Knowledge of the invasive depth of the tumor is vital to treatment decisions. AIM To evaluate the diagnostic performance of double contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (DCEUS) for preoperative T staging in patients with GC by comparing with multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT). METHODS This single prospective study enrolled patients with GC confirmed by preoperative gastroscopy from July 2021 to March 2023. Patients underwent DCEUS, including US and intravenous CEUS, and MDCT examinations for the assessment of preoperative T staging. Features of GC were identified on DCEUS and criteria developed to evaluate T staging according to the 8th edition of AJCC cancer staging manual. The diagnostic performance of DCEUS was evaluated by comparing it with that of MDCT and surgical-pathological findings were considered as the gold standard. RESULTS A total of 229 patients with GC (80 T1, 33 T2, 59 T3 and 57 T4) were included. Overall accuracies were 86.9% for DCEUS and 61.1% for MDCT (P < 0.001). DCEUS was superior to MDCT for T1 (92.5% vs 70.0%, P < 0.001), T2 (72.7% vs 51.5%, P = 0.041), T3 (86.4% vs 45.8%, P < 0.001) and T4 (87.7% vs 70.2%, P = 0.022) staging of GC. CONCLUSION DCEUS improved the diagnostic accuracy of preoperative T staging in patients with GC compared with MDCT, and constitutes a promising imaging modality for preoperative evaluation of GC to aid individualized treatment decision-making.