Tissue elasticity properties as biomarkers for prostate cancer

Abstract

In this paper we evaluate tissue elasticity as a longstanding but qualitative biomarker for prostate cancer and sonoelastography as an emerging imaging tool for providing qualitative and quantitative measurements of prostate tissue stiffness. A Kelvin-Voigt Fractional Derivative (KVFD) viscoelastic model was used to characterize mechanical stress relaxation data measured from human prostate tissue samples. Mechanical testing results revealed that the viscosity parameter for cancerous prostate tissue is greater than that derived from normal tissue by a factor of approximately 2.4. It was also determined that a significant difference exists between normal and cancerous prostate tissue stiffness (p < 0.01) yielding an average elastic contrast that increases from 2.1 at 0.1 Hz to 2.5 at 150 Hz. Qualitative sonoelastographic results show promise for cancer detection in prostate and may prove to be an effective adjunct imaging technique for biopsy guidance. Elasticity images obtained with quantitative sonoelastography agree with mechanical testing and histological results. Overall, results indicate tissue elasticity is a promising biomarker for prostate cancer.

Transrectal Real-time Tissue Elastography - An Effective Way to Distinguish Benign and Malignant Prostate Tumors

“…Early detection can obviously improve chances of long-term survival. Since 1998, when Krouskop et al confirmed a significant difference in the mechanical behavior between normal and cancerous prostate tissues, elastography has been used as a new imaging technique for the diagnosis of PCa (Hoyta et al, 2008). Elasticity images obtained by quantitative sonoelastography are consistent with the results of mechanical and histological evaluation.…”

Fractional Maps as Maps with Power-Law Memory

“…Viscoelastic properties of human tissues were demonstrated in many examples: the brain and the central nervous system in general [10,44,49], the breast [12], the liver [41,81], the spleen [61], the prostate [36,95], the arteries [13,14], the muscles [31] (see also references for some other human and animal organs tissues [16,50,55,60,69]). Viscoelastic materials obey the following stress-strain relationship:…”

“…Eqs. (36), (37), and (43) with α = 3 and variables y = p and z =ṗ produce the full-memory 3D Universal Map…”

“…(36) and (37) with G K (x) = K sin(x) the standard α-RL-family of maps; • the Caputo α-family of maps Eqs. (43) with G K (x) = K sin(x) the standard α-Caputo-family of maps; • the Riemann-Liouville α-family of maps with G K (x) = x − Kx(1 − x) the logistic α-RL-family of maps; • the Caputo α-family of maps with G K (x) = x −Kx(1 −x) the logistic α-Caputofamily of maps.…”

Lump detection with a gelsight sensor

“…In breast lumps examination, for example, in which the hard tissue (lump) embedded in the soft tissues [3], tactile sensation plays a significant role in the first stage of examination. From the clinical data in [7], [11], [12], we can know that lumps are significantly stiffer than surrounding tissues. Such contrast of stiffness can assist doctors in the localization and assessment of lumps during lump examinations, when the doctors' fingertips are in direct contact with the tissue [6].…”