MRI-based Machine Learning Radiomics Can Predict CSF1R Expression Level and Prognosis in High-grade Gliomas

The purpose of this study is to predict the mRNA expression of CSF1R in HGG non-invasively using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) omics technology and to evaluate the correlation between the established radiomics model and prognosis. We investigated the predictive value of CSF1R in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) database. The Support vector machine (SVM) and the Logistic regression (LR) algorithms were used to create a radiomics_score (Rad_score), respectively. The effectiveness and performance of the radiomics model was assessed in the training (n = 89) and tenfold cross-validation sets. We further analyzed the correlation between Rad_score and macrophage-related genes using Spearman correlation analysis. A radiomics nomogram combining the clinical factors and Rad_score was constructed to validate the radiomic signatures for individualized survival estimation and risk stratification. The results showed that CSF1R expression was markedly elevated in HGG tissues, which was related to worse prognosis. CSF1R expression was closely related to the abundance of infiltrating immune cells, such as macrophages. We identified nine features for establishing a radiomics model. The radiomics model predicting CSF1R achieved high AUC in training (0.768 in SVM and 0.792 in LR) and tenfold cross-validation sets (0.706 in SVM and 0.717 in LR). Rad_score was highly associated with tumor-related macrophage genes. A radiomics nomogram combining the Rad_score and clinical factors was constructed and revealed satisfactory performance. MRI-based Rad_score is a novel way to predict CSF1R expression and prognosis in high-grade glioma patients. The radiomics nomogram could optimize individualized survival estimation for HGG patients.