Biological characteristics prediction of endometrial cancer based on deep convolutional neural network and multiparametric MRI radiomics
The exploration of deep learning techniques for predicting various biological characteristics of endometrial cancer (EC) is of significant importance. The objective of this study was to develop an optimized radiomics scheme combining multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), deep learning, and machine learning to predict biological features including myometrial invasion (MI), lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI), histologic grade (HG), and estrogen receptor (ER). This retrospective study involved 201 EC patients, who were divided into four groups according to the specific tasks. The proposed radiomics scheme extracted quantitative imaging features and multidimensional deep learning features from multiparametric MRI. Several classifiers were employed to predict biological features. Model performance and interpretability were assessed using traditional classification metrics, Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM), and SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) techniques. In the deep MI (DMI) prediction task, the proposed protocol achieved an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.960 (95% CI 0.9005-1.0000) in the test cohort. In the LVSI prediction task, the AUC of the proposed scheme in the test cohort was 0.924 (95% CI 0.7760-1.0000). In the HG prediction task, the AUC value of the proposed scheme in the test cohort was 0.937 (95% CI 0.8561-1.0000). In the ER prediction task, the AUC value of the proposed scheme in the test cohort was 0.929 (95% CI 0.7991-1.0000). The proposed radiomics scheme outperformed the comparative scheme and effectively extracted imaging features related to the expression of EC biological characteristics, providing potential clinical significance for accurate diagnosis and treatment decision-making.