A novel multimodal framework combining habitat radiomics, deep learning, and conventional radiomics for predicting MGMT gene promoter methylation in Glioma: Superior performance of integrated models

Abstract

Purpose

The present study aimed to develop a noninvasive predictive framework that integrates clinical data, conventional radiomics, habitat imaging, and deep learning for the preoperative stratification of MGMT gene promoter methylation in glioma.

Materials and Methods

This retrospective study included 410 patients from the University of California, San Francisco, USA, and 102 patients from our hospital. Seven models were constructed using preoperative contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MRI with gadobenate dimeglumine as the contrast agent. Habitat radiomics features were extracted from tumor subregions by k-means clustering, while deep learning features were acquired using a 3D convolutional neural network. Model performance was evaluated based on area under the curve (AUC) value, F1-score, and decision curve analysis.

Results

The combined model integrating clinical data, conventional radiomics, habitat imaging features, and deep learning achieved the highest performance (training AUC = 0.979 [95 % CI: 0.969–0.990], F1-score = 0.944; testing AUC = 0.777 [0.651–0.904], F1-score = 0.711). Among the single-modality models, habitat radiomics outperformed the other models (training AUC = 0.960 [0.954–0.983]; testing AUC = 0.724 [0.573–0.875]).

Conclusion

The proposed multimodal framework considerably enhances preoperative prediction of MGMT gene promoter methylation, with habitat radiomics highlighting the critical role of tumor heterogeneity. This approach provides a scalable tool for personalized management of glioma.