Grading of Gliomas by Contrast-Enhanced CT Radiomics Features

Background: Gliomas, as Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors, are greatly common with 80% of malignancy. Treatment methods for gliomas, such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy depend on the grade, size, location, and the patient’s age. Objective: This study aimed to quantify glioma based on the radiomics analysis and classify its grade into High-grade Glioma (HGG) or Low-grade Glioma (LGG) by various machine-learning methods using contrast-enhanced brain Computerized Tomography (CT) scans. Material and Methods: This retrospective study involved acquiring and segmenting data, selecting and extracting features, classifying, analyzing, and evaluating classifiers. The study included a total of 62 patients (31 with LGG and 31 with HGG). The tumors were segmented by an experienced CT-scan technologist with 3D slicer software. A total of 14 shape features, 18 histogram-based features, and 75 texture-based features were computed. The Area Under the Curve (AUC) and Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC) were used to evaluate and compare classification models. Results: A total of 13 out of 107 features were selected to differentiate between LGGs and HGGs and to perform various classifier algorithms with different cross-validations. The best classifier algorithm was linear-discriminant with 93.5% accuracy, 96.77% sensitivity, 90.3% specificity, and 0.98% AUC in the differentiation of LGGs and HGGs.  Conclusion: The proposed method can identify LGG and HGG with 93.5% accuracy, 96.77% sensitivity, 90.3% specificity, and 0.98% AUC, leading to the best treatment for glioma patients by using CT scans based on radiomics analysis.