Stability of radiomics features in apparent diffusion coefficient maps from a multi-centre test-retest trial

Sci Rep. 2019 Mar 18;9(1):4800. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-41344-5.

Abstract

Quantitative radiomics features, extracted from medical images, characterize tumour-phenotypes and have been shown to provide prognostic value in predicting clinical outcomes. Stability of radiomics features extracted from apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)-maps is essential for reliable correlation with the underlying pathology and its clinical applications. Within a multicentre, multi-vendor trial we established a method to analyse radiomics features from ADC-maps of ovarian (n = 12), lung (n = 19), and colorectal liver metastasis (n = 30) cancer patients who underwent repeated (<7 days) diffusion-weighted imaging at 1.5 T and 3 T. From these ADC-maps, 1322 features describing tumour shape, texture and intensity were retrospectively extracted and stable features were selected using the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC > 0.85). Although some features were tissue- and/or respiratory motion-specific, 122 features were stable for all tumour-entities. A large proportion of features were stable across different vendors and field strengths. By extracting stable phenotypic features, fitting-dimensionality is reduced and reliable prognostic models can be created, paving the way for clinical implementation of ADC-based radiomics.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Observational Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / instrumentation
  • Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods*
  • Liver / diagnostic imaging
  • Liver / pathology
  • Liver Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Liver Neoplasms / secondary
  • Lung / diagnostic imaging
  • Lung / pathology
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Ovary / diagnostic imaging
  • Ovary / pathology
  • Prospective Studies
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Tumor Burden