Evaluation of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 Status in Gastric Cancer by CT-Based Deep Learning Radiomics...

To explore the role of computed tomography (CT)-based deep learning and radiomics in preoperative evaluation of epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status in gastric cancer.

The clinical data on gastric cancer patients were evaluated retrospectively, and 357 patients were chosen for this study (training cohort: 249; test cohort: 108). The preprocessed enhanced CT arterial phase images were selected for lesion segmentation, radiomics and deep learning feature extraction. We integrated deep learning features and radiomic features (Inte). Four methods were used for feature selection. We constructed models with support vector machine (SVM) or random forest (RF), respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) was used to assess the performance of these models. We also constructed a nomogram including Inte-feature scores and clinical factors.

The radiomics-SVM model showed good classification performance (AUC, training cohort: 0.8069; test cohort: 0.7869). The AUC of the ResNet50-SVM model and the Inte-SVM model in the test cohort were 0.8955 and 0.9055. The nomogram also showed excellent discrimination achieving greater AUC (training cohort, 0.9207; test cohort, 0.9224).

CT-based deep learning radiomics nomogram can accurately and effectively assess the HER2 status in patients with gastric cancer before surgery and it is expected to assist physicians in clinical decision-making and facilitates individualized treatment planning.