F-FDG PET/CT imaging of pediatric peripheral neuroblastic tumor: a combined model to predict the International Neuroblastoma Pathology Classification.

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a model combining a 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-FDG PET/CT)-based radiomics signature with clinical factors in the preoperative prediction of the International Neuroblastoma Pathology Classification (INPC) type of pediatric peripheral neuroblastic tumor (pNT).

METHODS

A total of 106 consecutive pediatric pNT patients confirmed by pathology were retrospectively analyzed. Significant features determined by multivariate logistic regression were retained to establish a clinical model (C-model), which included clinical parameters and PET/CT radiographic features. A radiomics model (R-model) was constructed on the basis of PET and CT images. A semiautomatic method was used for segmenting regions of interest. A total of 1,016 radiomics features were extracted. Univariate analysis and the least absolute shrinkage selection operator were then used to select significant features. The C-model was combined with the R-model to establish a combination model (RC-model). The predictive performance was validated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA) in both the training cohort and validation cohort.

RESULTS

The radiomics signature was constructed using 5 selected radiomics features. The RC-model, which was based on the 5 radiomics features and 3 clinical factors, showed better predictive performance compared with the C-model alone [area under the curve in the validation cohort: 0.908 0.803; accuracy: 0.903 0.710; sensitivity: 0.895 0.789; specificity: 0.917 0.583; net reclassification improvement (NRI) 0.439, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.1047-0.773; P=0.01]. The calibration curve showed that the RC-model had goodness of fit, and DCA confirmed its clinical utility.

CONCLUSIONS

In this preliminary single-center retrospective study, an R-model based on F-FDG PET/CT was shown to be promising in predicting INPC type in pediatric pNT, allowing for the noninvasive prediction of INPC and assisting in therapeutic strategies.