Song Sung Eun, Seo Bo Kyoung, Cho Kyu Ran, Woo Ok Hee, Ganeshan Balaji, Kim Eun Sil, Cha Jaehyung
Department of Radiology, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Department of Radiology, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Ansan, South Korea.
Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2021 Jul 20;9:695305. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.695305. eCollection 2021.
Although inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) has poor overall survival (OS), there is little information about using imaging features for predicting the prognosis. Computed tomography (CT)-based texture analysis, a non-invasive technique to quantify tumor heterogeneity, could be a potentially useful imaging biomarker. The aim of the article was to investigate the usefulness of chest CT-based texture analysis to predict OS in IBC patients. Of the 3,130 patients with primary breast cancers between 2006 and 2016, 104 patients (3.3%) with IBC were identified. Among them, 98 patients who underwent pre-treatment contrast-enhanced chest CT scans, got treatment in our institution, and had a follow-up period of more than 2 years were finally included for CT-based texture analysis. Texture analysis was performed on CT images of 98 patients, using commercially available software by two breast radiologists. Histogram-based textural features, such as quantification of variation in CT attenuation (mean, standard deviation, mean of positive pixels [MPP], entropy, skewness, and kurtosis), were recorded. To dichotomize textural features for survival analysis, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine cutoff points. Clinicopathologic variables, such as age, node stage, metastasis stage at the time of diagnosis, hormonal receptor positivity, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positivity, and molecular subtype, were assessed. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the association of textural features and clinicopathologic variables with OS. During a mean follow-up period of 47.9 months, 41 of 98 patients (41.8%) died, with a median OS of 20.0 months. The textural features of lower mean attenuation, standard deviation, MPP, and entropy on CT images were significantly associated with worse OS, as was the M1 stage among clinicopathologic variables (all values < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, lower mean attenuation (hazard ratio [HR], 3.26; = 0.003), lower MPP (HR, 3.03; = 0.002), and lower entropy (HR, 2.70; = 0.009) on chest CT images were significant factors independent from the M1 stage for predicting worse OS. Lower mean attenuation, MPP, and entropy on chest CT images predicted worse OS in patients with IBC, suggesting that CT-based texture analysis provides additional predictors for OS.
尽管炎性乳腺癌(IBC)的总体生存率(OS)较差,但关于利用影像特征预测预后的信息却很少。基于计算机断层扫描(CT)的纹理分析是一种量化肿瘤异质性的非侵入性技术,可能是一种潜在有用的影像生物标志物。本文的目的是研究基于胸部CT的纹理分析对预测IBC患者OS的有用性。在2006年至2016年间的3130例原发性乳腺癌患者中,确定了104例(3.3%)IBC患者。其中,98例接受了治疗前对比增强胸部CT扫描、在本机构接受治疗且随访期超过2年的患者最终被纳入基于CT的纹理分析。由两名乳腺放射科医生使用商用软件对98例患者的CT图像进行纹理分析。记录基于直方图的纹理特征,如CT衰减变化的量化指标(均值、标准差、阳性像素均值[MPP]、熵、偏度和峰度)。为了将纹理特征二分法用于生存分析,采用受试者工作特征曲线分析来确定截断点。评估了临床病理变量,如年龄、淋巴结分期、诊断时的转移分期、激素受体阳性、人表皮生长因子受体2阳性和分子亚型。采用Cox比例风险模型来确定纹理特征和临床病理变量与OS的关联。在平均47.9个月的随访期内,98例患者中有41例(41.8%)死亡,中位OS为20.0个月。CT图像上较低的平均衰减、标准差、MPP和熵的纹理特征与较差的OS显著相关,临床病理变量中的M1期也是如此(所有值<0.05)。在多变量分析中,胸部CT图像上较低的平均衰减(风险比[HR],3.26; =0.003)、较低的MPP(HR,3.03; =0.002)和较低的熵(HR,2.70; =0.009)是独立于M1期预测较差OS的重要因素。胸部CT图像上较低的平均衰减、MPP和熵预测IBC患者的OS较差,这表明基于CT的纹理分析为OS提供了额外的预测指标。