Diagnostic Value of Contrast‐Enhanced Ultrasound Features for WHO/ISUP Grading in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Objectives By analyzing the differences of contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) features between low‐ and high‐grade of WHO/ISUP grading, to explore the diagnostic value of CEUS in evaluating the prognosis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Methods The qualitative and quantitative features of CEUS in 69 patients with RCC confirmed by surgical pathology in the Lanzhou University Second Hospital from March to October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were categorized into two groups: low‐grade group (n = 22) and high‐grade group (n = 47), with surgical pathology as reference standard. The diagnostic performance of statistically significant CEUS features was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results There were statistically significant differences in enhancement degree (P = .032) and quantitative features such as slopelesion (P = .034), the differences between lesion and cortex in arrive time (∆AT = ATlesion − ATcortex, P = .013), peak intensity(∆PI = [PIlesion − PIcortex]/PIcortex, P = .003), area under the curve (∆Area = Arealesion − Areacortex, P = .008) in two groups, and the sensitivity was 70.2% and specificity was 71.4% of ∆PI, which has a high diagnostic performance in the differentiation of low‐grade group from high‐grade group (P = .005). Conclusions CEUS features such as ∆PI, may help differentiate low‐grade RCC from high‐grade RCC. CEUS has a promising application prospect in preoperative evaluation of the prognosis of RCC.