Radiomics in Early Detection of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Close Look at Its Current Status and Challenges to Clinical Implementation.

Journal: Canadian Association of Radiologists journal = Journal l'Association canadienne des radiologistes
Published Date: Jul 9, 2025

Abstract

Radiomics is a mathematical approach to medical images to extract quantitative features generating a "radiomics signature." The radiomics workflow involves image acquisition and pre-processing, region of interest segmentation, feature extraction, and then model training and validation. It has generated promising results, however, clinical implementation for early detection remains a challenge. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common pancreatic cancer, has a highly aggressive nature with an aggregated 5-year survival rate of only 13%. Early detection of PDAC provides timely surgical intervention, hoping for improved survival rates. Radiomics has been applied to the detection of PDAC; however, its sensitivity to variations in image acquisition parameters has posed significant challenges, limiting the development of robust and generalizable models. This review explores the current landscape of radiomics for the early detection of PDAC, highlighting key challenges within the radiomics workflow and barriers to its progression from a proof-of-concept into clinical practice.

Authors

  • Hajra Arshad
    The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Felipe Lopez-Ramirez
    Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
  • Florent Tixier
    LaTIM, INSERM, UMR 1101, Univ Brest, Brest, France; and.
  • Philippe Soyer
    Department of Radiology, Hôpital Cochin-APHP, 27 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques, Paris 75014, France.
  • Satomi Kawamoto
    The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
  • Elliot K Fishman
    The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiologic Science, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. Electronic address: efishman@jhmi.edu.
  • Linda C Chu
    The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. Electronic address: lindachu@jhmi.edu.

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