Multiparametric detection and outcome prediction of pancreatic cancer involving dual-energy CT, diffusion-weighted MRI, and radiomics

BACKGROUND: The advent of next-generation computed tomography (CT)- and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) opened many new perspectives in the evaluation of tumor characteristics. An increasing body of evidence suggests the incorporation of quantitative imaging biomarkers into clinical decision-making to provide mineable tissue information. The present study sought to evaluate the diagnostic and predictive value of a multiparametric approach involving radiomics texture analysis, dual-energy CT-derived iodine concentration (DECT-IC), and diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) in participants with histologically proven pancreatic cancer. METHODS: In this study, a total of 143 participants (63 years ± 13, 48 females) who underwent third-generation dual-source DECT and DWI between November 2014 and October 2022 were included. Among these, 83 received a final diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, 20 had pancreatitis, and 40 had no evidence of pancreatic pathologies. Data comparisons were performed using chi-square statistic tests, one-way ANOVA, or two-tailed Student’s t-test. For the assessment of the association of texture features with overall survival, receiver operating characteristics analysis and Cox regression tests were used. RESULTS: Malignant pancreatic tissue differed significantly from normal or inflamed tissue regarding radiomics features (overall P < .001, respectively) and iodine uptake (overall P < .001, respectively). The performance for the distinction of malignant from normal or inflamed pancreatic tissue ranged between an AUC of ≥ 0.995 (95% CI, 0.955–1.0; P < .001) for radiomics features, ≥ 0.852 (95% CI, 0.767–0.914; P < .001) for DECT-IC, and ≥ 0.690 (95% CI, 0.587–0.780; P = .01) for DWI, respectively. During a follow-up of 14 ± 12 months (range, 10–44 months), the multiparametric approach showed a moderate prognostic power to predict all-cause mortality (c-index = 0.778 [95% CI, 0.697–0.864], P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Our reported multiparametric approach allowed for accurate discrimination of pancreatic cancer and revealed great potential to provide independent prognostic information on all-cause mortality. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40644-023-00549-8.