Radiomics Analysis of Multiparametric MRI for the Preoperative Prediction of Lymph Node Metastasis in Cervical Cancer

Objective: To develop and validate a radiomics predictive model based on multiparameter MR imaging features and clinical features to predict lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with cervical cancer. Material and Methods: A total of 168 consecutive patients with cervical cancer from two centers were enrolled in our retrospective study. A total of 3,930 imaging features were extracted from T2-weighted (T2W), ADC, and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted (cT1W) images for each patient. Four-step procedures, mainly minimum redundancy maximum relevance (MRMR) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression, were applied for feature selection and radiomics signature building in the training set from center I (n = 115). Combining clinical risk factors, a radiomics nomogram was then constructed. The models were then validated in the external validation set comprising 53 patients from center II. The predictive performance was determined by its calibration, discrimination, and clinical usefulness. Results: The radiomics signature derived from the combination of T2W, ADC, and cT1W images, composed of six LN-status-related features, was significantly associated with LNM and showed better predictive performance than signatures derived from either of them alone in both sets. Encouragingly, the radiomics signature also showed good discrimination in the MRI-reported LN-negative subgroup, with AUC of 0.825 (95% CI: 0.732–0.919). The radiomics nomogram that incorporated radiomics signature and MRI-reported LN status also showed good calibration and discrimination in both sets, with AUCs of 0.865 (95% CI: 0.794–0.936) and 0.861 (95% CI: 0.733–0.990), respectively. Decision curve analysis confirmed its clinical usefulness. Conclusion: The proposed MRI-based radiomics nomogram has good performance for predicting LN metastasis in cervical cancer and may be useful for improving clinical decision making.