Assessment of Y-90 Radioembolization Treatment Response for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cases Using MRI Radiomics.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the ability of radiomics features extracted from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images to differentiate between responders and non-responders for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases who received Y-90 transarterial radioembolization treatment.

Methods: Thirty-six cases of HCC who underwent MRI scans after Y-90 radioembolization were included in this study. Tumors were segmented from MRI T2 images, and then 87 radiomic features were extracted through the LIFEx package software. Treatment response was determined 9 months after treatment through the modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumours (mRECIST).

Results: According to mRECIST, 28 cases were responders and 8 cases were non-responders. Two radiomics features, "Grey Level Size Zone Matrix (GLSZM)-Small Zone Emphasis" and "GLSZM-Normalized Zone Size Non-Uniformity", were the radiomics features that could predict treatment response with the area under curve (AUC)= 0.71, sensitivity= 0.93, and specificity= 0.62 for both features. Whereas the other 4 features (kurtosis, intensity histogram root mean square, neighbourhood gray-tone difference matrix strength, and GLSZM normalized grey level non-uniformity) have a relatively lower but acceptable discrimination ability range from AUC= 0.6 to 0.66.

Conclusion: MRI radiomics analysis could be used to assess the treatment response for HCC cases treated with Y-90 radioembolization.