Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41546827›Full record

SynthesisWorld journal of urology2026

Diagnostic performance of radiomics for detecting and characterising upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC): a systematic review.

Joshua Bruinsma, Ninan Tharakan, Hugo C Temperley, Benjamin M Mac Curtain, Matthew Chau, Haider Bangash

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in World journal of urology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Joshua BruinsmaDepartment of Urology, Royal Perth Hospital, East Metropolitan Health Service, Perth, WA, Australia. Joshua.Bruinsma@health.wa.gov.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-1989-3063
Ninan TharakanDepartment of Urology, Joondalup Hospital, Joondalup, WA, Australia.
Hugo C TemperleyDepartment of Radiology, St James' University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9151-3431
Benjamin M Mac CurtainNorthwell, New Hyde Park, NY, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4534-2795
Matthew ChauDepartment of Urology, Royal Perth Hospital, East Metropolitan Health Service, Perth, WA, Australia.
Haider BangashDepartment of Urology, Royal Perth Hospital, East Metropolitan Health Service, Perth, WA, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeUpper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is a rare but aggressive malignancy where accurate preoperative assessment of tumour grade and stage is essential to guide treatment. Conventional tools such as ureteroscopic biopsy have limited accuracy and procedural risks. This systematic review evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic performance of radiomics models for predicting grade, stage, histotype, muscle invasion, and outcomes in UTUC.

methodsFollowing PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO Registration ID: CRD420251141966), PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and grey literature were searched up to 6 September 2025. Eligible studies included radiomics-based analyses in adults with UTUC. Extracted performance metrics (AUC, sensitivity, specificity) were summarised as medians with ranges.

resultsTwelve studies (n = 1,685) were included, encompassing 45 distinct radiomics models: 20 for grade, 11 for stage, 10 prognostic, three histotype, and one for muscle invasion. Models predicting high-grade disease demonstrated excellent performance (median AUC 0.876, range 0.675–0.961; sensitivity 0.838; specificity 0.806). Prognostic models achieved a median AUC of 0.854 (range 0.750–0.933) and sensitivity of 0.909, effectively predicting recurrence-free and overall survival. Stage prediction models yielded a median AUC of 0.771 (range 0.711–0.860), while histotype models reported a median AUC of 0.84. The single study assessing muscle invasion achieved an AUC of 0.821. Most studies used CT-based radiomics with machine-learning classifiers, though validation methods and feature selection strategies were heterogeneous.

conclusionRadiomics demonstrates high diagnostic and prognostic accuracy in UTUC, particularly for tumour grade and survival prediction. These findings support its potential as a non-invasive adjunct for risk stratification and surgical planning, though standardised multicentre validation is required before clinical adoption.

trial registrationThe trial was prospectively registered on PROSPERO on 07/09/2025 under ID: CRD420251141966.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Transitional CellKidney NeoplasmsRadiomicsUreteral NeoplasmsHumansPrognosisMachine learningRadiomicsRisk stratificationUpper tract urothelial carcinomaVirtual biopsy

Identifiers

PMID41546827
PMCPMC12812085

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Registered trials

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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.