Application of magnetic resonance imaging radiomics in endometrial cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PurposeWe aimed to systematically assess the methodological quality and clinical potential application of published magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based radiomics studies about endometrial cancer (EC).MethodsStudies of EC radiomics analyses published between 1 January 2000 and 19 March 2023 were extracted, and their methodological quality was evaluated using the radiomics quality score (RQS) and Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2). Pairwise correlation analyses and separate meta-analyses of studies exploring differential diagnoses and risk prediction were also performed.ResultsForty-five studies involving 3 aims were included. The mean RQS was 13.77 (range: 9-22.5); publication bias was observed in the areas of 'index test' and 'flow and timing'. A high RQS was significantly associated with therapy selection-aimed studies, low QUADAS-2 risk, recent publication year, and high-performance metrics. Raw data from 6 differential diagnosis and 34 risk prediction models were subjected to meta-analysis, revealing diagnostic odds ratios of 23.81 (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.48-66.83) and 18.23 (95% CI 13.68-24.29), respectively.ConclusionThe methodological quality of radiomics studies involving patients with EC is unsatisfactory. However, MRI-based radiomics analyses showed promising utility in terms of differential diagnosis and risk prediction.