Deep Learning Radiomics of Preoperative Breast MRI for Prediction of Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis in Breast Cancer

The objective of this study is to develop a radiomic signature constructed from deep learning features and a nomogram for prediction of axillary lymph node metastasis (ALNM) in breast cancer patients. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging data from 479 breast cancer patients with 488 lesions were studied. The included patients were divided into two cohorts by time (training/testing cohort, n = 366/122). Deep learning features were extracted from diffusion-weighted imaging–quantitatively measured apparent diffusion coefficient (DWI-ADC) imaging and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) by a pretrained neural network of DenseNet121. After the selection of both radiomic and clinicopathological features, deep learning signature and a nomogram were built for independent validation. Twenty-three deep learning features were automatically selected in the training cohort to establish the deep learning signature of ALNM. Three clinicopathological factors, including LN palpability (odds ratio (OR) = 6.04; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 3.06–12.54, P = 0.004), tumor size in MRI (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.18–1.80, P = 0.104), and Ki-67 (OR = 1.01; 95% CI = 1.00–1.02, P = 0.099), were selected and combined with radiomic signature to build a combined nomogram. The nomogram showed excellent predictive ability for ALNM (AUC 0.80 and 0.71 in training and testing cohorts, respectively). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 65%, 80%, and 75%, respectively, in the testing cohort. MRI-based deep learning radiomics in patients with breast cancer could be used to predict ALNM, providing a noninvasive approach to structuring the treatment strategy.