Role of radiomics in predicting lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer: a systematic review

Francesco Miccichè; Gianluca Rizzo; Calogero Casà; Mariavittoria Leone; Giuseppe Quero; Luca Boldrini; Milutin Bulajic; Domenico Cristiano Corsi; Vincenzo Tondolo

doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.1189740

Role of radiomics in predicting lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer: a systematic review

Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 Aug 16:10:1189740. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1189740. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Francesco Miccichè¹, Gianluca Rizzo², Calogero Casà¹, Mariavittoria Leone¹, Giuseppe Quero³, Luca Boldrini⁴, Milutin Bulajic⁵, Domenico Cristiano Corsi⁶, Vincenzo Tondolo²

Affiliations

¹ U.O.C. di Radioterapia Oncologica, Fatebenefratelli Isola Tiberina-Gemelli Isola, Rome, Italy.
² U.O.C. di Chirurgia Digestiva e del Colon-Retto, Fatebenefratelli Isola Tiberina-Gemelli Isola, Rome, Italy.
³ U.O.C. di Chirurgia Digestiva, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
⁴ U.O.C. di Radioterapia Oncologica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
⁵ U.O.C. di Endoscopia Digestiva, Fatebenefratelli Isola Tiberina-Gemelli Isola, Rome, Italy.
⁶ U.O.C. di Oncologia Medica, Fatebenefratelli Isola Tiberina-Gemelli Isola, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Introduction: Gastric cancer (GC) is an aggressive and clinically heterogeneous tumor, and better risk stratification of lymph node metastasis (LNM) could lead to personalized treatments. The role of radiomics in the prediction of nodal involvement in GC has not yet been systematically assessed. This study aims to assess the role of radiomics in the prediction of LNM in GC.

Methods: A PubMed/MEDLINE systematic review was conducted to assess the role of radiomics in LNM. The inclusion criteria were as follows: i. original articles, ii. articles on radiomics, and iii. articles on LNM prediction in GC. All articles were selected and analyzed by a multidisciplinary board of two radiation oncologists and one surgeon, under the supervision of one radiation oncologist, one surgeon, and one medical oncologist.

Results: A total of 171 studies were obtained using the search strategy mentioned on PubMed. After the complete selection process, a total of 20 papers were considered eligible for the analysis of the results. Radiomics methods were applied in GC to assess the LNM risk. The number of patients, imaging modalities, type of predictive models, number of radiomics features, TRIPOD classification, and performances of the models were reported.

Conclusions: Radiomics seems to be a promising approach for evaluating the risk of LNM in GC. Further and larger studies are required to evaluate the clinical impact of the inclusion of radiomics in a comprehensive decision support system (DSS) for GC.

Keywords: gastric cancer; lymph node metastasis; predictive model; radiomics; systematic review.

Publication types

Systematic Review