{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T04:46:19Z","timestamp":1782794779265,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782777600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oncol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Shear-wave elastography (SWE) is increasingly used to assess musculoskeletal soft-tissue masses, but its diagnostic performance relative to ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) remains uncertain.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy, reproducibility, and clinical utility of SWE for differentiating benign and malignant soft-tissue tumors.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Following PRISMA-DTA guidelines, PubMed\/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and RSNA\/WFUMB proceedings were searched through 22 September 2025. Eligible studies included patients with histologically verified extraosseous soft-tissue masses evaluated using quantitative SWE. Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) were extracted or reconstructed. Owing to marked methodological and threshold heterogeneity, a narrative synthesis was performed. Certainty of evidence was rated with GRADE-DTA.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Ten studies (n = 1,335 lesions; 22-41% malignant) met inclusion criteria following a search of six databases (PubMed\/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and RSNA\/WFUMB proceedings) through 22 September 2025. SWE reproducibility was high where reported (intraclass correlation coefficient &amp;gt; 0.85 in four studies), but diagnostic performance varied widely (AUC range 0.57-0.87). In some studies, In selected studies, SWE was associated with potentially higher specificity in benign-appearing or superficial lesions (\u0394AUC +0.07 vs US in one cohort), but it failed to distinguish lipomatous or deep lesions from malignancy. MRI remained superior in most direct comparisons (AUC 0.85-0.90). Threshold heterogeneity and poor cross-vendor reproducibility limited generalizability. Certainty of evidence was moderate for superficial lesions and low for deep or lipomatous tumors.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>SWE demonstrates excellent reproducibility but inconsistent diagnostic utility across lesion types. It should be applied selectively primarily for superficial, non-fatty lesions as an adjunct to US rather than as a stand-alone diagnostic tool. Standardized acquisition protocols and vendor calibration are prerequisites for broader clinical adoption.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Systematic review registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:ext-link>https:\/\/www.crd.york.ac.uk\/prospero\/display_record.php?RecordID=1172017<\/jats:ext-link>\n                      , identifier CRD420251172017.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fonc.2026.1768309","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T04:25:12Z","timestamp":1782793512000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Diagnostic performance and clinical utility of shear-wave elastography in musculoskeletal soft-tissue tumors: a systematic review"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Yayun","family":"Lin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ultrasound, Yantaishan Hospital","place":["Yantai, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianping","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ultrasound, Sinopharm Tongmei General Hospital","place":["Datong, Shanxi, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ultrasound, Yantaishan Hospital","place":["Yantai, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianmin","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ultrasound, Yantaishan Hospital","place":["Yantai, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","unstructured":"Key statistics for soft tissue sarcomas\n          \n          2025"},{"key":"B2","unstructured":"Cancer stat facts: Soft tissue including heart cancer, (2024-2025 data)\n          \n          2025"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3322\/caac.21605","article-title":"Soft-tissue sarcoma in adults: An update on the current state of histiotype-specific management in an era of personalized medicine","volume":"70","author":"Gamboa","year":"2020","journal-title":"CA.: A. 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