The application of radiomics in vestibular schwannomas.

OBJECTIVES

Radiomics refers to converting medical images into high-quality quantitative data. This review examines applications of radiomics in vestibular schwannomas and future considerations for translation into clinical practice.

METHODS

The review was pre-registered on Prospero (ID: CRD42024579319). A comprehensive systematic review-informed search of the Ovid Medline, Embase and Global Health online databases was undertaken using the keywords 'acoustic neuroma' or 'vestibular schwannoma' or 'cerebellopontine angle tumour' or 'cerebellopontine tumour' or 'head and neck cancer' were combined with 'radiomic' or 'signature' or 'machine learning' or 'artificial intelligence'.

RESULTS

The studies ( = 6) were categorised into two groups: radiomics for pre-operative decision-making ( = 1) and radiomics for treatment outcomes ( = 5). Radiomic features were significantly associated with clinical outcomes. Radiomics-based predictive models were superior to expert vision.

CONCLUSION

Radiomics has potential for improving multiple aspects of vestibular schwannoma care, but lack of studies inhibited firm conclusions. Prospective studies are required to progress this field.