A method for characterizing a volume of tissue of a patient, comprising: • receiving acoustic data derived from the interaction between the volume of tissue and acoustic waves irradiating the volume of tissue; • generating a morphology rendering of the volume of tissue from the acoustic data, wherein the morphology rendering represents at least one biomechanical property of the tissue, the morphology rendering comprising a three-dimensional acoustic reflection rendering of the volume of tissue from the acoustic data, a three-dimensional acoustic attenuation rendering of the volume of tissue from the acoustic data, and a three dimensional acoustic speed rendering of the volume of tissue from the acoustic data; the method characterized by comprising the steps of: • generating a merged rendering based on the three-dimensional acoustic reflection rendering, the three-dimensional acoustic attenuation rendering, and the three-dimensional acoustic speed rendering; • identifying a region of interest within the volume of tissue from the merged rendering; • determining a prognostic parameter for the region of interest in the rendering, wherein determining the prognostic parameter comprises calculating an acoustic attenuation parameter representing a volume average value of acoustic attenuation within the region of interest in the tissue, calculating an acoustic speed parameter representing a volume average value of acoustic speed within the region of interest in the tissue, calculating an acoustic reflection index parameter representing the acoustic reflectivity of the region of interest in the tissue, and characterizing margin sharpness for the region of interest in the reflection rendering; and • analyzing the prognostic parameter to characterize the region of interest. • receiving acoustic data derived from the interaction between the volume of tissue and acoustic waves irradiating the volume of tissue; • generating a morphology rendering of the volume of tissue from the acoustic data, wherein the morphology rendering represents at least one biomechanical property of the tissue, the morphology rendering comprising a three-dimensional acoustic reflection rendering of the volume of tissue from the acoustic data, a three-dimensional acoustic attenuation rendering of the volume of tissue from the acoustic data, and a three dimensional acoustic speed rendering of the volume of tissue from the acoustic data; • generating a merged rendering based on the three-dimensional acoustic reflection rendering, the three-dimensional acoustic attenuation rendering, and the three-dimensional acoustic speed rendering; • identifying a region of interest within the volume of tissue from the merged rendering; • determining a prognostic parameter for the region of interest in the rendering, wherein determining the prognostic parameter comprises calculating an acoustic attenuation parameter representing a volume average value of acoustic attenuation within the region of interest in the tissue, calculating an acoustic speed parameter representing a volume average value of acoustic speed within the region of interest in the tissue, calculating an acoustic reflection index parameter representing the acoustic reflectivity of the region of interest in the tissue, and characterizing margin sharpness for the region of interest in the reflection rendering; and • analyzing the prognostic parameter to characterize the region of interest.