A CT-based Deep Learning Radiomics Nomogram for the Prediction of EGFR Mutation Status in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Rationale and objectives: Accurately assessing epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients is crucial for prognosis and treatment selection. This study aimed to construct and validate a contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT)-based deep learning radiomics nomogram (DLRN) to predict EGFR mutation status of HNSCC.

Materials and methods: A total of 300 HNSCC patients who underwent CECT scans were enrolled in this study. Participants from two hospitals were separated into a training set (n = 200, 56 EGFR-negative and 144 EGFR-positive) from one hospital and an external test set from the other hospital (n = 100, 37 EGFR-negative and 63 EGFR-positive). The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method was used to select the key features from CECT-based manually extracted radiomics (MER) features and features automatically extracted using a deep learning model (DL, extracted using a GoogLeNet model). The selected independent clinical factors, MER features, and DL features were then combined to construct a DLRN. The DLRN's performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristics curves.

Results: Five MER and six DL features were finally chosen. The DLRN, which includes "gender" and "necrotic areas," along with the selected features, predicted EGFR mutation status of HNSCC (EGFR-negative vs. positive) well in both the training (area under the curve [AUC], 0.901) and test (AUC, 0.875) sets.

Conclusion: A DLRN using CECT was built to predict EGFR mutation in HNSCC. The model showed high predictive ability and may aid in treatment selection and patient prognosis.

Keywords: Deep learning; Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; Radiomics; Tomography; X-ray computed.