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Updated: Jun 26, 2025
Machine Learning Algorithms for Early Detection of Bone Metastases in an Experimental Rat Model
Published on: August 16, 2020
A radiograph-based deep learning model improves radiologists' performance for classification of histological types of
Zhuoyao Xie1, Huanmiao Zhao2, Liwen Song1
1Department of Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University (Academy of Orthopedics, Guangdong Province), 183 Zhongshan Da Dao Xi, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510630, China.
Purpose:
To develop a deep learning (DL) model for classifying histological types of primary bone tumors (PBTs) using radiographs and evaluate its clinical utility in assisting radiologists.
Methods:
This retrospective study included 878 patients with pathologically confirmed PBTs from two centers (638, 77, 80, and 83 for the training, validation, internal test, and external test sets, respectively). We classified PBTs into five categories by histological types: chondrogenic tumors, osteogenic tumors, osteoclastic giant cell-rich tumors, other mesenchymal tumors of bone, or other histological types of PBTs. A DL model combining radiographs and clinical features based on the EfficientNet-B3 was developed for five-category classification. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated to evaluate model performance. The clinical utility of the model was evaluated in an observer study with four radiologists.
Results:
The combined model achieved a macro average AUC of 0.904/0.873, with an accuracy of 67.5 %/68.7 %, a macro average sensitivity of 66.9 %/57.2 %, and a macro average specificity of 92.1 %/91.6 % on the internal/external test set, respectively. Model-assisted analysis improved accuracy, interpretation time, and confidence for junior (50.6 % vs. 72.3 %, 53.07[s] vs. 18.55[s] and 3.10 vs. 3.73 on a 5-point Likert scale [P < 0.05 for each], respectively) and senior radiologists (68.7 % vs. 75.3 %, 32.50[s] vs. 21.42[s] and 4.19 vs. 4.37 [P < 0.05 for each], respectively).
Conclusion:
The combined DL model effectively classified histological types of PBTs and assisted radiologists in achieving better classification results than their independent visual assessment.
