Radiomics analysis for predicting malignant cerebral edema in patients undergoing endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke.

PURPOSE

Radiomics analysis is a promising image analysis technique. This study aims to extract a radiomics signature from baseline computed tomography (CT) to predict malignant cerebral edema (MCE) in patients with acute anterior circulation infarction after endovascular treatment (EVT).

METHODS

In this retrospective study, 111 patients underwent EVT for acute ischemic stroke caused by middle cerebral artery (MCA) and/or internal carotid artery occlusion. The participants were randomly divided into two datasets: the training set (n = 77) and the test set (n = 34). The clinico-radiological profiles of all patients were collected, including cranial non-contrast-enhanced CT, CT angiography, and CT perfusion. The MCA territory on non-contrast-enhanced CT images was segmented, and the radiomics features associated with MCE were analyzed. The clinico-radiological parameters related to MCE were also identified. In addition, a routine visual radiological model based on radiological factors and a combined model comprising radiomics features and clinico-radiological factors were constructed to predict MCE.

RESULTS

The areas under the curve (AUCs) of the radiomics signature for predicting MCE were 0.870 ( < 0.001) and 0.837 ( = 0.002) in the training and test sets, respectively. The AUCs of the routine visual radiological model were 0.808 ( < 0.001) and 0.813 ( = 0.005) in the training and test sets, respectively. The AUCs of the model combining the radiomics signature and clinico-radiological factors were 0.924 ( < 0.001) and 0.879 ( = 0.001) in the training and test sets, respectively.

CONCLUSION

A CT image-based radiomics signature is a promising tool for predicting MCE in patients with acute anterior circulation infarction after EVT. For clinicians, it may assist in diagnostic decision-making.