Ultrasound Elastography as a Diagnostic Tool in Malignant and Benign Tumors of Salivary Glands and its Histological Correlation

Elastography is an innovative technique that tests the texture of different body tissues and allows the characterization according to the elastic properties.
The technique is used in various fields in diagnosis of chest, prostate and liver tumors. It has shown promising results in pre-characterization of thyroid lesions.
Today, the conventional method for initial diagnosis of lesions in salivary glands is the ultrasound. Its ability to characterize the tumors is quite limited and it is mainly used for anatomical boundaries involvement.
FNA also has significant limitations when it comes to saliva-derived tumors and its sensitivity is about 50 percent.

The ability to diagnose non-invasively between different salivary gland tumors can prevent unnecessary and complex surgeries, and even prevent the use of FNA, which by itself is a relatively invasive procedure.
For example, the ability to differentiate between benign tumors with low malignancy potential such as PA and Whartin`s that do not require surgical removal, especially in older adults or patients with systemic complexity, can prevent unnecessary surgery and risk for patients.
The aim of the study is to characterize various tumors in salivary glands (Parotid and submandibular glands), examine the correlation to the histological outcome and thereby confirming or refuting the efficacy of the method for pre-non-invasive examination of tumors in salivary glands.