Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the additional benefit of the difference of maximumand minimum shear wave velocity (SWV) values obtained at different probe orientations (D-value) for thedifferential diagnosis of breast tumors.Methods SWV (m/s) was measured in 123 breast tumors (92 benign, 31 malignant) in 76 female patientswith the probe placed on the transverse, longitudinal, and 45° planes. The areas under the receiveroperating characteristic (AUROC) curves were compared with respect to the maximum SWV, minimum SWV, D-value, maximum SWV combined with the D-value, and minimum SWV combined with the D-value.Results There was a significant difference among the values of the maximum SWV, minimum SWV,and D-value for the 3 planes (P < 0.001). The AUROC curves for the maximum SWV, minimum SWV, andD-values of the 3 planes were 0.751 (P = 0.379), 0.486 (P = 0.863), and 0.603 (P = 0.204), respectively.The cutoff value for the maximum SWV for differentiating benign tumors from malignant tumors was 2.51m/s (sensitivity 67%, specificity 50%). The cutoff value for the minimum SWV was 1.61 m/s (sensitivity53%, specificity 50%). Adding the D-value increased the AUROC curve for the maximum SWV from 0.571to 0.733 and the minimum SWV from 0.486 to 0.504 (P = 0.964), respectively.Conclusion SWV differs in different planes of breast tumors. The D-value can provide a reference for thedifferential diagnosis of breast tumors.