Predicting disease recurrence in breast cancer patients using machine learning models with clinical and radiomic characteristics: a retrospective study

Abstract

Background The goal is to use three different machine learning models to predict the recurrence of breast cancer across a very heterogeneous sample of patients with varying disease kinds and stages. Methods A heterogeneous group of patients with varying cancer kinds and stages, including both triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and non-triple-negative breast cancer (non-TNBC), was examined. Three distinct models were created using the following five machine learning techniques: Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), Random Under-sampling Boosting (RUSBoost), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), support vector machines (SVM), and Logistic Regression. The clinical model used both clinical and pathology data in conjunction with the machine learning algorithms. The machine learning algorithms were combined with dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) imaging characteristics in the radiomic model, and the merged model combined the two types of data. Each technique was evaluated using several criteria, including the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, precision, recall, and F1 score. Results The results suggest that the integration of clinical and radiomic data improves the predictive accuracy in identifying instances of breast cancer recurrence. The XGBoost algorithm is widely recognized as the most effective algorithm in terms of performance. Conclusion The findings presented in this study offer significant contributions to the field of breast cancer research, particularly in relation to the prediction of cancer recurrence. These insights hold great potential for informing future investigations and clinical interventions that seek to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of recurrence prediction in breast cancer patients.