Predicting relative efficacy of anthracyclines and taxanes in breast cancer neoadjuvant AC-T chemotherapy using longitudinal MRI radiomic model

BackgroundNeoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is a standard treatment strategy for breast cancer, with a commonly used regimen consisting of 4-cycle anthracycline and cyclophosphamide (AC) treatment followed sequentially by 4-cycle taxane (T) treatment. Variations in treatment efficacy are observed at di...

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Main Authors: Kaiwen Liu, Ran Zheng, Jiulou Zhang, Siqi Wang, Yingying Jin, Feiyun Wu, Jue Wang, Shouju Wang, Xiaoming Zha, Yuxia Tang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Oncology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1544833/full
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author Kaiwen Liu
Ran Zheng
Jiulou Zhang
Siqi Wang
Yingying Jin
Feiyun Wu
Jue Wang
Shouju Wang
Xiaoming Zha
Yuxia Tang
author_facet Kaiwen Liu
Ran Zheng
Jiulou Zhang
Siqi Wang
Yingying Jin
Feiyun Wu
Jue Wang
Shouju Wang
Xiaoming Zha
Yuxia Tang
author_sort Kaiwen Liu
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundNeoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is a standard treatment strategy for breast cancer, with a commonly used regimen consisting of 4-cycle anthracycline and cyclophosphamide (AC) treatment followed sequentially by 4-cycle taxane (T) treatment. Variations in treatment efficacy are observed at different stages of AC-T regimen. Stratifying patients based on the efficacy variations could provide insights to prolong the cycle of AC or T treatment, potentially enhancing the overall efficacy of NAC. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of developing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomic models for predicting the relative efficacy of AC versus T treatments.MethodsThis retrospective study included 190 breast cancer patients, who were randomly allocated into a training set (n=133) and a test set (n=57). All patients received NAC treatment consisting of four cycles of AC followed by four cycles of T. Breast MRI examinations were conducted before NAC (pre-NAC), before the fifth cycle (mid-NAC), and before surgery (post-NAC). Relative efficacy was defined by comparing tumor volume change rates between the AC and T treatment stages. Radiomic features were extracted from dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) images based on the intratumoral and peritumoral regions at the pre-NAC and mid-NAC stages. Radiomic models were first developed, and hybrid models were then established by integrating radiomic and clinicopathological data to predict relative efficacy.ResultsFor radiomic models, the Delta model demonstrated effective discrimination of relative efficacy, achieving areas under the curve (AUCs) of 0.887 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.816-0.930] in the training set and 0.757 (95% CI: 0.683-0.817) in the test set. For hybrid models, the Delta+clinicopath model showed improved performance, with AUCs of 0.887 (95% CI: 0.873-0.892) in the training set and 0.772 (95% CI: 0.744-0.786) in the test set. The Delta+clinicopath model also exhibited favorable calibration in both sets and provided a substantial clinical net benefit.ConclusionsThe hybrid model is a reliable and reproducible tool for predicting the relative efficacy between AC and T treatments in breast cancer NAC. The model could help to stratify patients for personalized adjustment of NAC regimens.
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spelling doaj-art-a336d6241a2d4437aa0cfbc4d82432b92025-08-20T01:49:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Oncology2234-943X2025-05-011510.3389/fonc.2025.15448331544833Predicting relative efficacy of anthracyclines and taxanes in breast cancer neoadjuvant AC-T chemotherapy using longitudinal MRI radiomic modelKaiwen Liu0Ran Zheng1Jiulou Zhang2Siqi Wang3Yingying Jin4Feiyun Wu5Jue Wang6Shouju Wang7Xiaoming Zha8Yuxia Tang9Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Breast Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Breast Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Breast Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, ChinaBackgroundNeoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is a standard treatment strategy for breast cancer, with a commonly used regimen consisting of 4-cycle anthracycline and cyclophosphamide (AC) treatment followed sequentially by 4-cycle taxane (T) treatment. Variations in treatment efficacy are observed at different stages of AC-T regimen. Stratifying patients based on the efficacy variations could provide insights to prolong the cycle of AC or T treatment, potentially enhancing the overall efficacy of NAC. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of developing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomic models for predicting the relative efficacy of AC versus T treatments.MethodsThis retrospective study included 190 breast cancer patients, who were randomly allocated into a training set (n=133) and a test set (n=57). All patients received NAC treatment consisting of four cycles of AC followed by four cycles of T. Breast MRI examinations were conducted before NAC (pre-NAC), before the fifth cycle (mid-NAC), and before surgery (post-NAC). Relative efficacy was defined by comparing tumor volume change rates between the AC and T treatment stages. Radiomic features were extracted from dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) images based on the intratumoral and peritumoral regions at the pre-NAC and mid-NAC stages. Radiomic models were first developed, and hybrid models were then established by integrating radiomic and clinicopathological data to predict relative efficacy.ResultsFor radiomic models, the Delta model demonstrated effective discrimination of relative efficacy, achieving areas under the curve (AUCs) of 0.887 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.816-0.930] in the training set and 0.757 (95% CI: 0.683-0.817) in the test set. For hybrid models, the Delta+clinicopath model showed improved performance, with AUCs of 0.887 (95% CI: 0.873-0.892) in the training set and 0.772 (95% CI: 0.744-0.786) in the test set. The Delta+clinicopath model also exhibited favorable calibration in both sets and provided a substantial clinical net benefit.ConclusionsThe hybrid model is a reliable and reproducible tool for predicting the relative efficacy between AC and T treatments in breast cancer NAC. The model could help to stratify patients for personalized adjustment of NAC regimens.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1544833/fullbreast cancerneoadjuvant chemotherapymagnetic resonance imaging (MRI)radiomicslongitudinal analysis
spellingShingle Kaiwen Liu
Ran Zheng
Jiulou Zhang
Siqi Wang
Yingying Jin
Feiyun Wu
Jue Wang
Shouju Wang
Xiaoming Zha
Yuxia Tang
Predicting relative efficacy of anthracyclines and taxanes in breast cancer neoadjuvant AC-T chemotherapy using longitudinal MRI radiomic model
Frontiers in Oncology
breast cancer
neoadjuvant chemotherapy
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
radiomics
longitudinal analysis
title Predicting relative efficacy of anthracyclines and taxanes in breast cancer neoadjuvant AC-T chemotherapy using longitudinal MRI radiomic model
title_full Predicting relative efficacy of anthracyclines and taxanes in breast cancer neoadjuvant AC-T chemotherapy using longitudinal MRI radiomic model
title_fullStr Predicting relative efficacy of anthracyclines and taxanes in breast cancer neoadjuvant AC-T chemotherapy using longitudinal MRI radiomic model
title_full_unstemmed Predicting relative efficacy of anthracyclines and taxanes in breast cancer neoadjuvant AC-T chemotherapy using longitudinal MRI radiomic model
title_short Predicting relative efficacy of anthracyclines and taxanes in breast cancer neoadjuvant AC-T chemotherapy using longitudinal MRI radiomic model
title_sort predicting relative efficacy of anthracyclines and taxanes in breast cancer neoadjuvant ac t chemotherapy using longitudinal mri radiomic model
topic breast cancer
neoadjuvant chemotherapy
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
radiomics
longitudinal analysis
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1544833/full
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