Special Ultrasound Accurately Identifies Skin Cancer

High-frequency ultrasound with elastography can help differentiate between cancerous and benign skin conditions, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Elastography was found to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions not by their visible appearance but by measuring their elasticity or stiffness. Since malignancies are stiffer than benign growths, elastography, when added to high-frequency ultrasound imaging of the skin, has potential to improve the accuracy of traditional clinical diagnosis of skin cancers and, in some cases, eliminate unnecessary biopsies of benign skin lesions. The procedure is noninvasive, convenient and inexpensive.