Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 28, 2024; 30(4): 381-417
Published online Jan 28, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i4.381
Current status of magnetic resonance imaging radiomics in hepatocellular carcinoma: A quantitative review with Radiomics Quality Score
Valentina Brancato, Marco Cerrone, Nunzia Garbino, Marco Salvatore, Carlo Cavaliere
Valentina Brancato, Department of Information Technology, IRCCS SYNLAB SDN, Naples 80143, Italy
Marco Cerrone, Nunzia Garbino, Marco Salvatore, Carlo Cavaliere, Department of Radiology, IRCCS SYNLAB SDN, Naples 80143, Italy
Author contributions: Brancato V, Cerrone M and Cavaliere C conceptualized the problem determined the review scope and strategies; Cerrone M, Garbino N, and Cavaliere C conducted the searching and screening of the literature and reviewed the selected articles; Brancato V performed statistical analyses and drafted statistical sections; Cerrone M and Brancato V wrote the manuscript; Brancato V, Cerrone M, Salvatore M and Cavaliere C reviewed and edited the manuscript draft; all authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Supported by the “Ricerca Corrente” Grant from Italian Ministry of Health, No. IRCCS SYNLAB SDN.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Marco Cerrone, BSc, Researcher, Department of Radiology, IRCCS SYNLAB SDN, Via E. Gianturco 113, Naples 80143, Italy. marco.cerrone@synlab.it
Received: October 31, 2023
Peer-review started: October 31, 2023
First decision: November 24, 2023
Revised: December 5, 2023
Accepted: January 10, 2024
Article in press: January 10, 2024
Published online: January 28, 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Radiomics is a promising tool that may increase the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for different tasks related to the management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its implementation in clinical practice is still far, with many issues related to the methodological quality of radiomic studies.

AIM

To systematically review the current status of MRI radiomic studies concerning HCC using the Radiomics Quality Score (RQS).

METHODS

A systematic literature search of PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases was performed to identify original articles focusing on the use of MRI radiomics for HCC management published between 2017 and 2023. The methodological quality of radiomic studies was assessed using the RQS tool. Spearman’s correlation (ρ) analysis was performed to explore if RQS was correlated with journal metrics and characteristics of the studies. The level of statistical signi-ficance was set at P < 0.05.

RESULTS

One hundred and twenty-seven articles were included, of which 43 focused on HCC prognosis, 39 on prediction of pathological findings, 16 on prediction of the expression of molecular markers outcomes, 18 had a diagnostic purpose, and 11 had multiple purposes. The mean RQS was 8 ± 6.22, and the corresponding percentage was 24.15% ± 15.25% (ranging from 0.0% to 58.33%). RQS was positively correlated with journal impact factor (IF; ρ = 0.36, P = 2.98 × 10-5), 5-years IF (ρ = 0.33, P = 1.56 × 10-4), number of patients included in the study (ρ = 0.51, P < 9.37 × 10-10) and number of radiomics features extracted in the study (ρ = 0.59, P < 4.59 × 10-13), and time of publication (ρ = -0.23, P < 0.0072).

CONCLUSION

Although MRI radiomics in HCC represents a promising tool to develop adequate personalized treatment as a noninvasive approach in HCC patients, our study revealed that studies in this field still lack the quality required to allow its introduction into clinical practice.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Systematic review, Magnetic resonance imaging, Radiomics, Radiomics quality score

Core Tip: This systematic review aimed at evaluating the status of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomic studies related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using the Radiomics Quality Score (RQS) to assess methodological quality. A systematic literature search identified 127 articles covering various steps of HCC management. The mean RQS was 8 ± 6.22, with significant variation. RQS was significantly correlated with journal impact factor (IF), 5-year IF, the number of patients involved, the number of radiomic features extracted, and the publication year. Despite the potential of MRI radiomics in HCC, its clinical implementation is hindered by a lack of quality in studies in this field.