Role of artificial intelligence applied to ultrasound in gynecology oncology: A systematic review.

Journal: International journal of cancer
PMID:

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to explore the role of artificial intelligence (AI) applied to ultrasound imaging in gynecology oncology. Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases were searched. All studies were imported to RAYYAN QCRI software. The overall quality of the included studies was assessed using QUADAS-AI tool. Fifty studies were included, of these 37/50 (74.0%) on ovarian masses or ovarian cancer, 5/50 (10.0%) on endometrial cancer, 5/50 (10.0%) on cervical cancer, and 3/50 (6.0%) on other malignancies. Most studies were at high risk of bias for subject selection (i.e., sample size, source, or scanner model were not specified; data were not derived from open-source datasets; imaging preprocessing was not performed) and index test (AI models was not externally validated) and at low risk of bias for reference standard (i.e., the reference standard correctly classified the target condition) and workflow (i.e., the time between index test and reference standard was reasonable). Most studies presented machine learning models (33/50, 66.0%) for the diagnosis and histopathological correlation of ovarian masses, while others focused on automatic segmentation, reproducibility of radiomics features, improvement of image quality, prediction of therapy resistance, progression-free survival, and genetic mutation. The current evidence supports the role of AI as a complementary clinical and research tool in diagnosis, patient stratification, and prediction of histopathological correlation in gynecological malignancies. For example, the high performance of AI models to discriminate between benign and malignant ovarian masses or to predict their specific histology can improve the diagnostic accuracy of imaging methods.

Authors

  • Francesca Moro
    Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: morofrancy@gmail.com.
  • Marianna Ciancia
    Department of Women's, Child and Public Health Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
  • Drieda Zace
    Infectious Disease Clinic, Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
  • Marica Vagni
    Fondazione Policlinico Universitario ''Agostino Gemelli'' IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
  • Huong Elena Tran
    Radiomics G-STeP Research Core Facility, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
  • Maria Teresa Giudice
    Fondazione Policlinico Agostino Gemelli, IRCCS, Gynecology and Obstetrics, 00168 Rome, Italy.
  • Sofia Gambigliani Zoccoli
    Dipartimento Universitario Scienze della Vita e Sanità Pubblica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
  • Floriana Mascilini
    Dipartimento Scienze della Salute della Donna, del Bambino e di Sanità Pubblica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
  • Francesca Ciccarone
    Dipartimento Scienze della Salute della Donna, del Bambino e di Sanità Pubblica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
  • Luca Boldrini
    Radiation Oncology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
  • Francesco D'Antonio
    Centre for Fetal Care and High-Risk Pegnancy, University of Chieti, Italy.
  • Giovanni Scambia
    Division of Gynecological Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
  • Antonia Carla Testa
    Department of Women's, Child and Public Health Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.