3D reconstruction of Wilms' tumor and kidneys in children: Variability, usefulness and constraints

Wilms' tumor (WT) is the most common type of malignant kidney tumor in children. Three-dimensional reconstructions can be performed pre-operatively to help surgeons in the planning phase.

The main objective of this study was to determine the variability of WT segmentation and 3D reconstruction. The secondary objectives were to assess the usefulness of these 3D reconstructions in the surgical planning phase and in the selection of patients for nephron-sparing surgery (NSS).

14 scans from 12 patients were manually or semi-automatically segmented by 2 teams using 3D Slicer software. Inter-individual variability of 3D reconstructions was measured based on the Dice index. The utility of 3D reconstructions for the surgical planning was evaluated by 4 pediatric surgeons using a 5-point Likert scale. The possibility of undertaking NSS was evaluated according to the criteria defined in the Umbrella SIOP-RTSG 2016 protocol.

Segmentation of the WT, healthy kidney, pathological kidney, arterial and venous vascularization could be performed for all of the patients in this study. Urinary cavities segmentation could only be performed for 5 out of 14 scans that had a delayed acquisition phase. The mean time required to carry out these segmentations was 8.6 h [3-15 h]. The mean Dice index for all of the scans was good (mean: 0.87; range [0.83-0.91]). Considering each anatomical structure, the Dice index was very good for the WT (mean: 0.95; range [0.91-0.97]) and the healthy kidney (mean: 0.95; range [0.93-0.96]), good for the pathological kidney (mean: 0.87; range [0.69-0.96]) and arterial vascularization (mean: 0.84; range [0.74-0.91]). The Dice index was lower than 0.8 for venous vascularization only (mean: 0.77; range [0.58-0.86]). All the surgeons who were interviewed agreed that the 3D reconstructions were realistic representations and useful for the surgical planning phase. The images reconstructed in 3D allowed most of the criteria defined by the Umbrella SIOP-RTSG 2016 protocol to be evaluated regarding the selection of patients who could benefit from NSS.

The inter-individual variability of 3D reconstructions of WT is acceptable. Three-dimensional representation appears to assist surgeons with the surgical planning phase by allowing them to better anticipate the operative risks. 3D reconstructions can also be an additional tool to better select patients for NSS. However, the manual or semi-automatic method used is very time-consuming, making it difficult for a routinely use. Developing techniques to automate this segmentation process, therefore, appears to be essential if surgeons and radiologists are to use it in daily practice.