MRI Radiomics Analysis in the Diagnostic Differentiation of Malignant Soft Tissue Myxoid Sarcomas From Benign Soft Tissue Musculoskeletal Myxomas.

Abstract

Background: Differentiation of benign myxomas and malignant myxoid sarcomas can be difficult with an overlapping spectrum of morphologic MR findings.

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic utility of MRI radiomics in the differentiation of musculoskeletal myxomas and myxoid sarcomas.

Study type: Retrospective.

Population: A total of 523 patients were included; histologically proven myxomas (N = 201) and myxoid sarcomas (N = 322), randomly divided (70:30) into training:test subsets.

Sequence/field strength: T1-weighted (T1W), T2-weighted fat-suppressed (fluid-sensitive), and T1-weighted post-contrast (T1W + C) sequences at 1.0 T, 1.5 T, or 3.0 T.

Assessment: Seven semantic (qualitative) tumor features were assessed in each case. Manual 3D tumor segmentations performed with radiomics features extracted from T1W, fluid-sensitive, and T1W + C acquisitions. Models were constructed based on radiomic features from individual sequences and from their combination, both with and without the addition of qualitative tumor features.

Statistical tests: Intraclass correlation evaluated in 60 cases segmented by three readers. Features with intraclass correlation <0.7 excluded from further analysis. Boruta feature selection and Random Forest modeling performed using the training-dataset, with resultant models used to assess class discrimination (myxoma vs. myxoid sarcoma) in the test dataset. Radiomics score defined as probability class = myxoma. Logistic regression modeling employed to estimate performance of the radiomics score. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to assess diagnostic performance, and DeLong's test to assess performance between constructed models. A P-value <0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Four qualitative semantic features showed significant predictive power in class discrimination. Radiomic models demonstrated excellent differentiation of myxomas from myxoid sarcomas: AUC of 0.9271 (T1W), 0.9049 (fluid-sensitive), and 0.9179 (T1W + C). Incorporation of multiparametric data or semantic features did not significantly improve model performance (P ≥ 0.08) compared to radiomic models derived from any individual MRI sequence alone.

Data conclusion: MRI radiomics appears to be accurate in the differentiation of myxomas from myxoid sarcomas. Classification performance did not improve when incorporating qualitative features or multiparametric imaging data.

Plain language summary: Accurately distinguishing between benign soft tissue myxomas and malignant myxoid sarcomas is essential for guiding appropriate management but remains challenging with conventional MRI interpretation. This study utilized radiomics, a method that extracts quantitative mathematically derived features from images, to develop predictive models based on routine MRI examination. Analyzing over 500 cases, MRI radiomics demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy in differentiating between benign myxomas and malignant myxoid sarcomas, highlighting the potential of the technique, as a powerful non-invasive tool that could complement current diagnostic approaches, and enhance clinical decision-making in patients with soft tissue myxoid tumors of the musculoskeletal system.

Level of evidence: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.