LG-UNet Based Segmentation and Survival Prediction of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Using Multimodal MRI Imaging.

Image segmentation and survival prediction for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are crucial for clinical diagnosis and treatment decisions. This study presents an improved 3D-UNet-based model for NPC GTV segmentation, referred to as LG-UNet. The encoder introduces deep strip convolution and channel attention mechanisms to enhance feature extraction while avoiding spatial feature loss and anisotropic constraints. The decoder incorporates Dynamic Large Convolutional Kernel (DLCK) and Global Feature Fusion (GFF) modules to capture multi-scale features and integrate global contextual information, enabling precise segmentation of the tumor GTV in NPC MRI images. Risk prediction is performed on the segmented multi-modal MRI images using the Lung-Net model, with output risk factors combined with clinical data in the Cox model to predict metastatic probabilities for NPC lesions. Experimental results on 442 NPC MRI scans from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center showed DSC of 0.8223, accuracy of 0.8235, recall of 0.8297, and HD95 of 1.6807 mm. Compared to the baseline model, the DSC improved by 7.73%, accuracy increased by 4.52%, and recall improved by 3.40%. The combined model's risk prediction showed C-index values of 0.756, with a 5-year AUC value of 0.789. This model can serve as an auxiliary tool for clinical decision-making in NPC.