Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39907722›Full record

ArticleAbdominal radiology (New York)2026

Inclusion of tumor periphery in radiomics analysis of magnetic resonance images does not improve predictions of preoperative therapy response in patients with rectal cancer.

Nafsika Korsavidou Hult, Sambit Tarai, Klara Hammarström, Joel Kullberg, Elin Lundström, Tomas Bjerner, Bengt Glimelius, Håkan Ahlström

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Abdominal radiology (New York), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Nafsika Korsavidou HultRadiology, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Akademiska Sjukhuset, Ingång 70, Uppsala, 751 85, Sweden. nafsika.korsavidou@uu.se.ORCID 0000-0002-5562-449X
Sambit TaraiRadiology, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Akademiska Sjukhuset, Ingång 70, Uppsala, 751 85, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-5550-3575
Klara HammarströmDepartment of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Dag Hammarskjölds v 20, Uppsala, 751 85, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-8271-2241
Joel KullbergRadiology, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Akademiska Sjukhuset, Ingång 70, Uppsala, 751 85, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-8205-7569
Elin LundströmRadiology, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Akademiska Sjukhuset, Ingång 70, Uppsala, 751 85, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-2955-4958
Tomas BjernerDept. of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences (HMV), Division of Diagnostics and Specialist Medicine (DISP), Linköping University, Linköping, 581 83, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-9548-4842
Bengt GlimeliusDepartment of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Dag Hammarskjölds v 20, Uppsala, 751 85, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-5440-791X
Håkan AhlströmRadiology, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Akademiska Sjukhuset, Ingång 70, Uppsala, 751 85, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-8701-969X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

background/purposeTo evaluate the advantages of including versus excluding the tumor periphery and combining diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with T2-weighted imaging (T2w) for outcome predictions of preoperative radio(chemo)therapy in rectal cancer.

methodsFour analysis strategies, based on two segmentation methods and two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences, were evaluated in 106 patients examined with pretreatment MRI. One segmentation method included the tumor periphery in the region of interest (ROI) encompassing the whole tumor (wROI), considered as the reference segmentation approach, and one included only the central part (cROI). Relevant radiomics imaging features were extracted from either T2w alone or from both T2w and DWI and used by a machine learning algorithm for the prediction of pathologic complete response (pCR), neoadjuvant rectal (NAR) score, and disease recurrence. The area under the curve (AUC) was the performance measure. AUCs were compared with a bootstrapping method based on 10

resultscROI applied to both T2w and DWI provided the highest numerical prediction of pCR (AUC 0.76), however, not significantly superior to the other strategies (p ≥ 0.138). cROI applied to both T2w and DWI also yielded the highest numerical prediction of NAR score (AUC 0.84), showing advantages over wROI-based analysis strategies (AUC 0.66 and 0.69; p ≤ 0.008). When compared to cROI applied to T2w alone (AUC 0.73), the benefit was borderline statistically significant (p = 0.053). For prediction of disease recurrence, no differences were found between the analysis strategies.

conclusionsInclusion of the tumor periphery in radiomic analysis of magnetic resonance images does not improve predictions of the preoperative therapy response in patients with rectal cancer. Excluding tumor periphery while adding DWI to T2w improves prediction of the NAR score, although it does not affect pCR or recurrence prediction.

Indexed as

Magnetic Resonance ImagingRectal NeoplasmsAdultAgedDiffusion Magnetic Resonance ImagingFemaleHumansImage Interpretation, Computer-AssistedMaleMiddle AgedNeoadjuvant TherapyPreoperative CareRadiomicsRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeMRINARpCRRadiomicsRectal cancerRecurrence

Identifiers

PMID39907722
PMCPMC12971816

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.