Radiomics in predicting recurrence for patients with locally advanced breast cancer using quantitative ultrasound.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of pre-treatment quantitative ultrasound (QUS)-radiomics in predicting recurrence for patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A prospective study was conducted in patients with LABC ( = 83). Primary tumours were scanned using a clinical ultrasound device before starting treatment. Ninety-five imaging features were extracted-spectral features, texture, and texture-derivatives. Patients were determined to have recurrence or no recurrence based on clinical outcomes. Machine learning classifiers with k-nearest neighbour (KNN) and support vector machine (SVM) were evaluated for model development using a maximum of 3 features and leave-one-out cross-validation.

RESULTS

With a median follow up of 69 months (range 7-118 months), 28 patients had disease recurrence (local or distant). The best classification results were obtained using an SVM classifier with a sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and area under curve of 71%, 87%, 82%, and 0.76, respectively. Using the SVM model for the predicted non-recurrence and recurrence groups, the estimated 5-year recurrence-free survival was 83% and 54% ( = 0.003), and the predicted 5-year overall survival was 85% and 74% ( = 0.083), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

A QUS-radiomics model using higher-order texture derivatives can identify patients with LABC at higher risk of disease recurrence before starting treatment.