Doppler ultrasound assessment of tumor vascularity in gynecologic disorders.

Real-time two-dimensional and pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasonic examinations were performed on 8 normal volunteers and 97 patients with various gynecologic disorders; the objective was to assess uterine and tumor vascularities. Each arterial blood flow velocity wave-form was classified into two types. The resistance indices of normal and abnormal flows were greater than .7 and less than .7, respectively. In normal volunteers, abnormal flows were nil. In 8 of 44 patients with benign tumors (18.2%), abnormal flows were evident and all proved to be cases of leiomyoma or adenomyosis. Doppler signals were not detected in 18 of 36 patients with cervical carcinoma (50%) and abnormal flows were noted in only 6 (16.7%). In all cases of endometrial carcinoma, ovarian carcinoma, and trophoblastic disease, typically abnormal flows were noted. Moreover, in most subjects a decrease in blood flows was observed after chemotherapy by anticancer drugs or irradiation. Therefore, Doppler ultrasound is a pertinent and noninvasive tool that can be used repeatedly for assessing the tumor vascularity in gynecologic disorders.