Age,a basic marker of the population,is an indispensable demographic characteristic in medicine.However,the grouping in medicine according to age have problems such as inconsistent grouping criteria and ambiguous definition of age-related terms.Therefore,this article reviews the age-based grouping criteria and the application of related terms in medicine.

The breast cancer diagnosed in the women at or above age 70 is defined as breast cancer in the elderly.As the population keeps aging,breast cancer in the elderly presents increasing incidence and high mortality.Early detection,early diagnosis,and early treatment might improve the prognosis of these patients. Comprehensively evaluating the functional age of elderly patients is essential for the individualized treatment. Medical imaging plays a key role in the screening,early diagnosis,therapy selection,evaluation of neoadjuvant therapy efficacy,and postoperative follow-up.We reviewed the current literature and focused on the role of medical imaging in the diagnosis and treatment recommendations for breast cancer in the elderly.

BR55 is an ultrasound contrast agent targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2,which can be used to detect tumor neovascularization and improve the diagnostic accuracy.Overseas researchers have used BR55 for human ultrasound molecular imaging,which showed good safety and tolerance.We reviewed the research progress on BR55 applied in the evaluation of tumor neovascularization from the composition,characteristics,animal experiments,and clinical studies of BR55.

The incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)keeps on rise.Without intervention,it may develop to steatohepatitis,cirrhosis,and even hepatocellular carcinoma.Liver biopsy,the gold standard for evaluating the steatosis severity of NAFLD,is invasive and unsuitable for large-scale screening.In recent years,magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)-related examinations have been used as a gold standard only second to liver biopsy,which still have disadvantages in large-scale application.Ultrasound has the advantages of simple operation,low cost,and safety,and may become an important method for accessing NALFD.This review summarizes the current studies about the diagnosis of liver steatosis by quantitative ultrasound assessment,including controlled attenuation parameters,attenuation imaging,ultrasonic liver/kidney intensity ratio and liver attenuation rate,and integrated backscatter.

Triple-negative breast cancer is a complex type of breast cancer,the most common malignant tumor in women.Since the early image features of triple-negative breast cancer appear benign tumor with rapid growth,this cancer has progressed into the middle and late stages once diagnosed,which leads to high mortality.Therefore,the diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer has always been a clinical difficulty.This article summarizes the role of ultrasound in the diagnosis and treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.The extracted multi-mode ultrasound features will facilitate the early detection of this cancer and improve the prognosis of these patients.

Objective To discuss the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)parameters in evaluating the formation of Kimmelstiel-Wilson(K-W)nodules in diabetic nephropathy(DN).Methods Sixty-two patients pathologically diagnosed with DN and undergoing CEUS in the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from March 2017 to January 2020 were assigned into two groups according to whether K-W nodules were formed.The cortical CEUS parameters and the ratios of cortical to medullary CEUS parameters were compared between the two groups.Results The 62 patients included 19 patients without K-W nodules(group A)and 43 patients with K-W nodules(group B).The median rise time(U=209,P=0.013)and fall time(U=197,P=0.007)in group B were significantly longer than those in group A.The median wash-in rate(WiR)(U=228,P=0.031)and wash-out rate(WoR)(U=229,P=0.032)in group B were significantly lower than those in group A.The median peak enhancement(PE)1/PE2(U=224,P=0.026),WiR1/WiR2(U=235,P=0.041),and WoR1/WoR2(U=230,P=0.043)ratios in group B were significantly lower than those in group A.The median FT1/FT2 ratio in group B was significantly higher than that in group A(U=227,P=0.038).Conclusion CEUS parameters can be used to quantitatively evaluate renal cortical microperfusion in DN patients with K-W nodules.

Objective To explore the value of elastography strain ratio(SR)combined with breast ultrasound imaging reporting and data system(BI-RADS-US)in the differential diagnosis of breast nodules.Methods A total of 471 breast nodules(from 471 patients)were reclassified by SR combined with BI-RADS-US.With the pathology results as gold standard,the area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve(AUC)was employed to evaluate the diagnostic performance,and the sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy were compared between the combined method and BI-RADS-US.Results Among the 471 breast nodules,180 nodules were benign and 291 were malignant.The AUC of the combined method was statistically significantly higher than that of BI-RADS-US(0.798 vs. 0.730;Z= 2.583, P= 0.010).SR,BI-RADS-US,and the combined method for diagnosing breast nodules had the sensitivity of 86.6%,99.0%,and 96.6%,the specificity of 67.2%,47.2%,and 63.3%,and the accuracy of 79.2%,79.2%,and 83.9%,respectively.The combined method increased the specificity from 47.2%(BI-RADS-US)to 63.3%(χ ²=14.25,P < 0.001),and downgraded 57.5%(42/73)benign nodules of BI-RADS category 4A to category 3.Conclusions SR combined with BI-RADS-US can improve the diagnostic performance for breast nodules.Especially,it can improve the specificity,avoiding unnecessary biopsy of breast nodules.