AI-ing Microenvironment Improves Prediction of Extracapsular Nodal Extension in Oropharyngeal Carcinoma

Deintensification for early-stage oropharyngeal carcinoma includes surgery +/- adjuvant radiation therapy without the use of concurrent chemotherapy. Pathologic findings of nodal extracapsular extension (ECE), however, obligate the use of postoperative concurrent chemotherapy in these patients. Machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms using clinical annotations or CT images have yielded less than optimal ECE prediction with AUCs of 0.58-0.85. We hypothesized that interplay between involved nodes and peritumoral environment plays a pivotal role in ECE determinants.
Source: International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: 133 Source Type: research