Early prediction of progression-free survival of patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma using multi-parametric MRI radiomics
摘要
Prognostic prediction plays a pivotal role in guiding personalized treatment for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANPC). However, few studies have investigated the incremental value of functional MRI to the conventional MRI-based radiomic models. Here, we aimed to develop a radiomic model including functional MRI to predict the prognosis of LANPC patients.
MethodsOne hundred and twenty-six patients (training dataset, n = 88; validation dataset, n = 38) with LANPC were retrospectively included. Radiomic features were extracted from T1-weighted imaging (T1WI), T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), contrast-enhanced T1WI (cT1WI), and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Pearson correlation analysis and recursive feature elimination or Relief were used for identifying features associated with progression-free survival (PFS). Five machine learning algorithms with cross-validation were compared to develop the optimal single-layer and fusion radiomic models. Clinical and combined models were developed via multivariate Cox regression model.
ResultsThe clinical model based on TNM stage achieved a C-index of 0.544 in the validation dataset. The fusion radiomic model, incorporating DWI-, T1WI-, and cT1WI-derived imaging features, yielded the highest C-index of 0.788, outperforming DWI-based (C-index = 0.739), T1WI-based (C-index = 0.734), cT1WI-based (C-index = 0.722), and T1WI plus cT1WI-based models (C-index = 0.747) in predicting PFS. The fusion radiomic model yielded the C-index of 0.786 and 0.690 in predicting distant metastasis-free survival and overall survival, respectively. However, the addition of TNM stage to the fusion radiomic model could not improve the predictive power.
ConclusionThe fusion radiomic model demonstrates favorable performance in predicting survival outcomes in LANPC patients, surpassing TNM staging alone. Integration of DWI-derived features into conventional MRI radiomic models could enhance predictive accuracy.