Elaboration of Multiparametric MRI‐Based Radiomics Signature for the Preoperative Quantitative Identification of the Histological Grade in Patients With Non‐Small‐Cell Lung Cancer

Background The histological grading plays an essential role in the treatment decision of lung cancer. Detected tumors are usually biopsied to confirm histologic grade. How to use MRI extracted radiomics features for accurately grading lung cancer is still challenging. Purpose To examine the diagnostic utility of multiparametric MRI radiomics and clinical factors for grading non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Study type Retrospective. Population A total of 148 patients (25.7% female) with postoperative pathologically confirmed NSCLC and divided into the training cohort ( N = 110) and the validation cohort ( N = 38). Field Strength/Sequence A 1.5 T; single‐shot turbo spin‐echo ( TSE ), T2 ‐weighted imaging ( T2WI ), and integrated shimming‐echo planar imaging ( ISHIM‐EPI ) diffusion‐weighted imaging ( DWI ). Assessment A total of 2775 radiomics features were extracted from carcinomatous regions of interest on T2WI, DWI, and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. The five optimal features were selected by using the Student' s t ‐test, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and stepwise regression. The Radscore combined with clinical factors, which selected by univariate and multivariate analyses, to develop a radiomics‐clinical nomogram. Its performance was evaluated in the training cohort and the validation cohort. The potential clinical usefulness was analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), area under the curve (AUC), and the Hosmer–Lemeshow test. Statistical Tests Student's t ‐test, univariate analyses, multivariate analyses, LASSO, ROC, AUC, and the Hosmer–Lemeshow test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Favorable discrimination performance was obtained for five optimal features (out of the 2775 features), using the training cohorts (AUC 0.761) and validation cohorts (AUC 0.753). In addition, the radiomics‐clinical nomogram significantly improved the ability to identify histological grades in the training cohort (AUC 0.814) and the validation cohort (AUC 0.767). Data Conclusions The radiomics‐clinical nomogram based on multiparametric MRI might have the potential to distinguish the histological grade of NSCLC. Evidence Level 3 Technical Efficacy Stage 2