The management of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) relies on clinical and histopathological features for treatment decisions. Recently, radiomics, which involves the extraction and analysis of quantitative imaging features, has shown promise in improving RCC management. This review evaluates the current application and limitations of radiomics for predicting treatment and oncological outcomes in RCC.
A systematic search was conducted in Medline, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases or studies that used radiomics to predict response to treatment and survival outcomes in patients with RCC. The study quality was assessed using the Radiomics Quality Score (RQS) tools.
The systematic review identified a total of 27 studies, examining 6,119 patients. The most used imaging modality was contrast-enhanced abdominal CT. The reviewed studies extracted between 19 and 3376 radiomics features, including Histogram, Texture, Filter, or transformation method. Radiomics-based risk stratification models provided valuable insights into treatment response and oncological outcomes. All developed signatures demonstrated at least modest accuracy (AUC range: 0.55-0.99). The studies included in this analysis reported heterogeneous results regarding radiomics methods. The range of Radiomics Quality Score (RQS) was from - 5 to 20, with a mean RQS total of 9.15 ± 7.95.
Radiomics has emerged as a promising tool in the management of RCC. It offers the potential for improved risk stratification and response assessment. However, future trials must demonstrate the generalizability of findings to prospective cohorts before progressing towards clinical translation.
World journal of urology. 2024 Sep 26*** epublish ***
Zine-Eddine Khene, Isamu Tachibana, Theophile Bertail, Raphael Fleury, Raj Bhanvadia, Payal Kapur, Satwik Rajaram, Junyu Guo, Alana Christie, Ivan Pedrosa, Yair Lotan, Vitaly Margulis
Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 2001 Inwood Rd, WCB3, Floor 4, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA., Department of Urology, University of Rennes, Rennes, France., Department of Pathology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA., Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA., Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center Biostatistics, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA., Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 2001 Inwood Rd, WCB3, Floor 4, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA. .