Magnetic resonance imaging-based radiomics analysis of the differential diagnosis of ovarian clear cell carcinoma and endometrioid carcinoma: a retrospective study

Abstract Purpose To retrospectively evaluate the diagnostic potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) -based features and radiomics analysis (RA) -based features for discriminating ovarian clear cell carcinoma (CCC) from endometrioid carcinoma (EC). Materials and methods Thirty-five patients with 40 ECs and 42 patients with 43 CCCs who underwent pretherapeutic MRI examinations between 2011 and 2022 were enrolled. MRI-based features of the two groups were compared. RA-based features were extracted from the whole tumor volume on T2-weighted images (T2WI), contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images (cT1WI), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression with tenfold cross-validation method was performed to select features. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to construct the discriminating models. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses were performed to predict CCC. Results Four features with the highest absolute value of the LASSO algorithm were selected for the MRI-based, RA-based, and combined models: the ADC value, absence of thickening of the uterine endometrium, absence of peritoneal dissemination, and growth pattern of the solid component for the MRI-based model; Gray-Level Run Length Matrix (GLRLM) Long Run Low Gray-Level Emphasis (LRLGLE) on T2WI, spherical disproportion and Gray-Level Size Zone Matrix (GLSZM), Large Zone High Gray-Level Emphasis (LZHGE) on cT1WI, and GLSZM Normalized Gray-Level Nonuniformity (NGLN) on ADC map for the RA-based model; and the ADC value, spherical disproportion and GLSZMLZHGE on cT1WI, and GLSZMNGLN on ADC map for the combined model. Area under the ROC curves of those models were 0. 895, 0. 910, and 0. 956. The diagnostic performance of the combined model was significantly superior (p = 0. 02) to that of the MRI-based model. No significant differences were observed between the combined and RA-based models. Conclusion Conventional MRI-based analysis can effectively distinguish CCC from EC. The combination of RA-based features with MRI-based features may assist in differentiating between the two diseases.