Lo et al reported a score for evaluating a major salivary gland tumor based on its sonographic features. The authors are from Fat Eastern Memorial Hospital and National Yang-Ming University in Taiwan.
Patient selection: major salivary gland tumor
Parameters seen on ultrasonography:
(1) boundary
(2) regional lymphadenopathy
(3) shape
(4) posterior acoustic enhancement
(5) calcifications
Parameter
Finding
Points
boundary
clear
0
unclear
2.08
lymphadenopathy
no
0
yes
1.75
shape
irregular/lobulated or spiculated
1.18
other (oval, round)
0
posterior acoustic enhancement
present
0
absent
1.45
calcifications
no
0
yes
2.4
total score =
= SUM(points for all of the parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 8.86
• A score >= 3 is associated with a malignant tumor with a sensitivity of 0.70 and specificity of 0.94.
Performance:
• The overall accuracy was 90%.
• The area under the ROC curve is 0.90.
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