A head-to-head comparison of computed tomography- and magnetic resonance imaging-based radiomics in assessing pediatric peripheral neuroblastic tumor cell behavior

PurposeTo compare the performance of radiomics from contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) and non-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in assessing cellular behavior in pediatric peripheral neuroblastic tumors (PNTs).Materials and methodsA retrospective analysis of 81 PNT patients who underwent venous phase CECT, T1-weighted imaging (T1WI), and T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) scans was conducted. The patients were classified into neuroblastoma and ganglioneuroblastoma/ganglioneuroma based on their pathological subtypes. Additionally, they were categorized into favorable histology and unfavorable histology according to the International Neuroblastoma Pathology Classification (INPC). Tumor regions of interest were segmented on CECT, axial T1WI, and axial T2WI images, and radiomics models were developed based on the selected radiomics features. Following five-fold cross-validation, the performance of the radiomics models derived from CECT and MRI was compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and accuracy.ResultsFor discriminating pathological subtypes, the AUC for CECT radiomics models ranged from 0.765 to 0.870, with an accuracy range of 0.728 to 0.815. In contrast, the AUC for MRI radiomics models ranged from 0.549 to 0.748, with an accuracy range of 0.531 to 0.778. Regarding the discrimination of INPC subgroups, the AUC for CECT radiomics models ranged from 0.503 to 0.759, with an accuracy range of 0.432 to 0.741. Meanwhile, the AUC for MRI radiomics models ranged from 0.512 to 0.739, with an accuracy range of 0.605 to 0.815.ConclusionsCECT radiomics outperforms non-contrast MRI radiomics in evaluating pathological subtypes. When assessing INPC subgroups, CECT radiomics demonstrates comparability with non-contrast MRI radiomics.