MRI-based radiomics for the diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Aim: To analyse the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based radiomics for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) by conducting a meta-analysis.

Materials and methods: A comprehensive search was performed to identify relevant English articles concerning the MRI-based radiomics diagnosis of TNBC (from the date of database establishment to November 2021). The pooled sensitivity (SEN), pooled specificity (SPE), positive likelihood ratio (LR+), negative likelihood ratio (LR-), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI), summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve and area under the curve (AUC) for the accuracy of MRI-based radiomics in the diagnosis of TNBC were calculated. The I² test was used to assess heterogeneity and the source of heterogeneity was investigated by performing a meta-regression analysis. Publication bias was assessed using Deeks' funnel plot asymmetry test.

Results: Six studies (1,223 patients) met the eligibility criteria. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.72 and 0.91, respectively. The LR+ of the malignant ultrasonic features was 8.0, and the LR- was 0.31, revealing that MRI-based radiomics exhibited excellent ability to confirm or exclude TNBC. SROC curves showed that the AUC of the MRI-based radiomics diagnosis of TNBC was 0.88, indicating that MRI-based radiomics has good diagnostic value for TNBC.

Conclusions: MRI radiomics is an excellent diagnostic tool with high specificity for the diagnosis of TNBC.