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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.

Sec. Head and Neck Cancer

Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1574250

Radiomics Model Based on Vertebral Calcium-Suppressed CT Images for Predicting Chemotherapy-Induced Myelosuppression in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Provisionally accepted
  • 1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University/Hunan Cancer Hospital, Changsha 410013, Hunan, China, Changsha, China
  • 2Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Graduate Collaborative Training Base of Hunan Cancer Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, Hunan, China, Hengyang, China
  • 3The First Affiliated Hospital, Department of Radiology, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China., Hengyang, China
  • 4Medical Department, the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University/Hunan Cancer Hospital, Changsha 410013, Hunan, China, Changsha, China
  • 5Philips Healthcare, Guangzhou, China, Guangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Objective: To develop and validate a radiomics model based on vertebral calcium-suppressed (CaSupp) images derived from dual-layer computed tomography (DLCT) for predicting chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANPC).Methods: This retrospective study included 150 LANPC patients treated with induction chemotherapy (IC). Radiomics features were extracted from lumbar vertebral CaSupp obtained from baseline DLCT scans. Models were developed to predict myelosuppression after the first chemotherapy cycle (IC-1) and entire chemotherapy cycles (IC-n). The clinics, radiomics, and combined models were conducted via multivariate logistic regression. Models’ performance was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Clinical utility was analyzed with decision curve analysis.Results: For predict myelosuppression after IC-1, the clinics, radiomics, and combined models had AUC values of 0.716, 0.825 and 0.859 in the train cohort, respectively; and AUC of 0.687, 0.752 and 0.790 in the test cohort, respectively. And for IC-n, the clinics, radiomics, and combined models exhibited AUC values of 0.771, 0.824, and 0.889 in the train cohort, respectively; and AUC of 0.652, 0.740 and 0.806 in the test cohort, respectively. For predicting myelosuppression after both IC-1 and IC-n ,the combined models demonstrated significantly higher AUC values than the clinics models for both IC-1 and IC-n (all P<0.05). Conclusions: Radiomics model based on vertebral CaSupp images from DLCT could predict chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression in LANPC patients. This study highlights the potential of DLCT technology to provide quantitative bone marrow assessments and aid in personalized treatment planning. External validation and comparison with other imaging modalities are warranted in the future.

Keywords: Dual-Layer Computed Tomography (DLCT), myelosuppression, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Calcium-Suppressed (CaSupp) Imaging, Radiomics

Received: 10 Feb 2025; Accepted: 18 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Hou, Zhang, Sun, Fu, Lu, Luo, Huang and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Xiaoping Yu, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University/Hunan Cancer Hospital, Changsha 410013, Hunan, China, Changsha, China

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