Imaging biomarkers of contrast-enhanced computed tomography predict survival in oesophageal cancer after definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the predictive potential of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT)-based imaging biomarkers (IBMs) for the treatment outcomes of patients with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) after definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). METHODS: Altogether, 154 patients with OSCC who underwent definitive CCRT were included in this retrospective study. All patients were randomised to the training cohort (n = 99) or the validation cohort (n = 55). Pre-treatment contrast-enhanced CT scans were obtained for all patients and used for the extraction of IBMs. An IBM score, was constructed by using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator with Cox regression analysis, which was equal to the log-partial hazard of the Cox model in the training cohort and tested in the validation cohort. IBM nomograms were built based on IBM scores for individualised survival estimation. Finally, a decision curve analysis was performed to estimate the clinical usefulness of the nomograms. RESULTS: Altogether, 96 IBMs were extracted from each contrast-enhanced CT scan. IBM scores were constructed from 11 CT-based IBMs for overall survival (OS) and 8 IBMs for progression-free survival (PFS), using the LASSO-Cox regression method in the training cohort. Multivariate analysis revealed that IBM score was an independent prognostic factor correlated with OS and PFS. In the training cohort, the C-indices of IBM scores were 0.734 (95% CI 0.664–0.804) and 0.658 (95% CI 0.587–0.729) for OS and PFS, respectively. In the validation cohort, C-indices were 0.672 (95% CI 0.578–0.766) and 0.666 (95% CI 0.574–0.758) for OS and PFS, respectively. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed a significant difference between risk subgroups in the training and validation cohorts. Decision curve analysis confirmed the clinical usefulness of the IBM score. CONCLUSIONS: The IBM score based on pre-treatment contrast-enhanced CT could predict the OS and PFS for patients with OSCC after definitive CCRT. Further multicentre studies with larger sample sizes are warranted.