Quantitative ultrasound radiomics analysis to evaluate lymph nodes in patients with cancer: a systematic review

Abstract

This systematic review aims to evaluate the role of ultrasound (US) radiomics in assessing lymphadenopathy in patients with cancer and the ability of radiomics to predict metastatic lymph node involvement. A systematic literature search was performed in the PubMed (MEDLINE), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and EMBASE (Ovid) databases up to June 13, 2023. 42 articles were included in which the lymph node mass was assessed with a US exam, and the analysis was performed using radiomics methods. From the survey of the selected articles, experimental evidence suggests that radiomics features extracted from US images can be a useful tool for predicting and characterizing lymphadenopathy in patients with breast, head and neck, and cervical cancer. This noninvasive and effective method allows the extraction of important information beyond mere morphological characteristics, extracting features that may be related to lymph node involvement. Future studies are needed to investigate the role of US-radiomics in other types of cancers, such as melanoma.

Zusammenfassung

Ziel dieser systematischen Übersicht ist es, die Rolle von Ultraschall-Radiomics (US-Radiomics) in der Beurteilung der Lymphadenopathie bei Krebspatienten zu bewerten, sowie die Fähigkeit von Radiomics, einen metastasierenden Lymphknotenbefall vorherzusagen. Es wurde eine systematische Literatursuche in den Datenbanken PubMed (MEDLINE), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) und EMBASE (Ovid) bis zum 13. Juni 2023 durchgeführt. Es wurden 42 Artikel eingeschlossen, in denen die Lymphknoten-Raumforderung mittels US-Untersuchung beurteilt wurde, und die Analyse wurde mithilfe von Radiomics-Methoden durchgeführt. Aus der Untersuchung der ausgewählten Artikel geht hervor, dass die aus US-Bildern extrahierten Radiomics-Merkmale ein nützliches Instrument zur Vorhersage und Charakterisierung der Lymphadenopathie bei Patienten mit Brust-, Kopf- und Hals- sowie Gebärmutterhalskrebs sein können. Diese nicht invasive und effektive Methode ermöglicht die Gewinnung wichtiger Informationen über bloße morphologische Merkmale hinaus – und extrahiert Merkmale, die mit dem Lymphknotenbefall in Zusammenhang stehen können. Zukünftige Studien sind erforderlich, um die Rolle der US-Radiomics bei anderen Krebsarten wie Melanomen zu untersuchen.

Keywords

ultrasound - cancer - quantitative analysis - lymph nodes - precision medicine

Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 27. Oktober 2023

Angenommen nach Revision: 09. Februar 2024

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
25. April 2024

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