Establishment and Validation of a Novel MRI Radiomics Feature-Based Prognostic Model to Predict Distant Metastasis in Endemic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

PurposeWe aimed to establish a prognostic model based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomics features for individual distant metastasis risk prediction in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).MethodsRegression analysis was applied to select radiomics features from T1-weighted (T1-w), contrast-enhanced T1-weighted (T1C-w), and T2-weighted (T2-w) MRI scans. All prognostic models were established using a primary cohort of 518 patients with NPC. The prognostic ability of the radiomics, clinical (based on clinical factors), and merged prognostic models (integrating clinical factors with radiomics) were identified using a concordance index (C-index). Models were tested using a validation cohort of 260 NPC patients. Distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were calculated by using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by using the log-rank test.ResultsIn the primary cohort, seven radiomics prognostic models showed similar discrimination ability for DMFS to the clinical prognostic model (P=0.070-0.708), while seven merged prognostic models displayed better discrimination ability than the clinical prognostic model or corresponding radiomics prognostic models (all P