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Novel imaging techniques of rectal cancer: what do radiomics and radiogenomics have to offer? A literature review

  • Special Section: Rectal Cancer
  • Published:
Abdominal Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

As computational capabilities have advanced, radiologists and their collaborators have looked for novel ways to analyze diagnostic images. This has resulted in the development of radiomics and radiogenomics as new fields in medical imaging. Radiomics and radiogenomics may change the practice of medicine, particularly for patients with colorectal cancer. Radiomics corresponds to the extraction and analysis of numerous quantitative imaging features from conventional imaging modalities in correlation with several endpoints, including the prediction of pathology, genomics, therapeutic response, and clinical outcome. In radiogenomics, qualitative and/or quantitative imaging features are extracted and correlated with genetic profiles of the imaged tissue. Thus far, several studies have evaluated the use of radiomics and radiogenomics in patients with colorectal cancer; however, there are challenges to be overcome before its routine implementation including challenges related to sample size, model design and interpretability, and the lack of robust multicenter validation set.

Material and methods

In this article, we will review the concepts of radiomics and radiogenomics and their potential applications in rectal cancer.

Conclusion

Radiologists should be aware of the basic concepts, benefits, pitfalls, and limitations of new radiomic and radiogenomics techniques to achieve a balanced interpretation of the results.

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Funding

This work was supported in part through the NIH/NCI Cancer Center Support Grant P30 CA008748.

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Author notes

  1. Natally Horvat and David D. B. Bates contributed equally to this study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Hospital Sirio-Libanes, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Natally Horvat

  2. Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave, Box 29, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    David D. B. Bates & Iva Petkovska

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  1. Natally Horvat
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  2. David D. B. Bates
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  3. Iva Petkovska
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Correspondence to Iva Petkovska.

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Horvat, N., Bates, D.D.B. & Petkovska, I. Novel imaging techniques of rectal cancer: what do radiomics and radiogenomics have to offer? A literature review. Abdom Radiol 44, 3764–3774 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-019-02042-y

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