Background: Soft-tissue tumors are often accompanied by abnormal temperature distribution detected during palpation. However, the assessment of temperature distribution is subjective, limiting its wide use in cancer screening. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of the thermal detection of soft-tissue tumors.
Methods: This study involved 100 soft-tissue tumor patients, the pathological diagnosis of which was confirmed by surgery from February 2017 to March 2019 in our hospital. Sixty patients were diagnosed with benign lesions, while 40 patients had malignant tumors. The cohort consisted of 52 males and 48 females, with a median age of 62 (range 22-84). Temperature difference detection by orthopedic oncologists, as well as the consistency and accuracy of temperature distribution detection by orthopedic oncologists, were investigated. The relationship between abnormal temperature distribution and the presence of malignancy in soft tissue was also explored.
Results: We found that more than half of the orthopedic oncologists could detect a temperature difference of 0.2 °C or higher. All three surgeons reported consistent temperature distribution findings after palpation in 92 out of 100 soft-tumor patients. The presence of abnormal temperature distribution was significantly associated with the presence of malignancy (P < 0.0017). Temperature differences of 0.2 °C or higher were significantly associated with the presence of malignant tumors (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: Diagnosis of abnormal temperature distribution by orthopedic oncologists could suggest the presence of malignancy in patients with soft-tissue lesions.
Keywords: Cancer screening; Digital infrared thermal imaging; Skin temperature; Soft-tissue tumor; Thermography.