Clinical Decision Support Systems for Brain Tumour Diagnosis and Prognosis: A Systematic Review

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Brain tumours are abnormal growth of cells in the human brain. Continuous effort is being made towards improving diagnosis and treatment options for such brain neoplasms. Manual classification and segmentation of imaging scans are tedious, time-consuming, and subjective. Over the last decade, the use of intelligent systems in the form of clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) to assist in identifying, classifying, and evaluating brain tumours has seen a rise. A CDSS can be used as a supportive tool for clinicians to deal with complex medical decisions and improve healthcare delivery. This review aims to systematically identify different types of CDSSs used in brain tumour diagnosis and prognosis through medical imaging. It analyses various CDSS tool types, techniques, accuracy, and outcomes to provide the latest evidence available in this field of research. ABSTRACT: CDSSs are being continuously developed and integrated into routine clinical practice as they assist clinicians and radiologists in dealing with an enormous amount of medical data, reduce clinical errors, and improve diagnostic capabilities. They assist detection, classification, and grading of brain tumours as well as alert physicians of treatment change plans. The aim of this systematic review is to identify various CDSSs that are used in brain tumour diagnosis and prognosis and rely on data captured by any imaging modality. Based on the 2020 preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) protocol, the literature search was conducted in PubMed and Engineering Village Compendex databases. Different types of CDSSs identified through this review include Curiam BT, FASMA, MIROR, HealthAgents, and INTERPRET, among others. This review also examines various CDSS tool types, system features, techniques, accuracy, and outcomes, to provide the latest evidence available in the field of neuro-oncology. An overview of such CDSSs used to support clinical decision-making in the management and treatment of brain tumours, along with their benefits, challenges, and future perspectives has been provided. Although a CDSS improves diagnostic capabilities and healthcare delivery, there is lack of specific evidence to support these claims. The absence of empirical data slows down both user acceptance and evaluation of the actual impact of CDSS on brain tumour management. Instead of emphasizing the advantages of implementing CDSS, it is important to address its potential drawbacks and ethical implications. By doing so, it can promote the responsible use of CDSS and facilitate its faster adoption in clinical settings.