Survival Prediction in Brain Metastasis Patients Treated with Stereotactic Radiosurgery: A Hybrid Machine Learning Approach

Objectives: Accurate survival prediction for brain metastasis patients undergoing stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is crucial for personalized treatment planning and improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to develop a machine learning model to estimate survival times, providing clinicians with...

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Main Authors: Tuğçe Öznacar, İpek Pınar Aral, Hatice Yağmur Zengin, Yılmaz Tezcan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Brain Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/3/266
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author Tuğçe Öznacar
İpek Pınar Aral
Hatice Yağmur Zengin
Yılmaz Tezcan
author_facet Tuğçe Öznacar
İpek Pınar Aral
Hatice Yağmur Zengin
Yılmaz Tezcan
author_sort Tuğçe Öznacar
collection DOAJ
description Objectives: Accurate survival prediction for brain metastasis patients undergoing stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is crucial for personalized treatment planning and improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to develop a machine learning model to estimate survival times, providing clinicians with a reliable tool for making informed decisions based on individual patient characteristics. The goal was to compare the performance of multiple algorithms and identify the most effective model for clinical use. Methods: We applied a hybrid machine learning approach to predict survival in brain metastasis patients treated with SRT, utilizing real-world data. Four algorithms—XGBoost, CatBoost, Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting—were compared within a meta-model framework to identify the most accurate for survival prediction. Model performance was evaluated using metrics such as MSE, MAE, MAPE, and C index. Results: XGBoost outperformed all other algorithms, achieving an MSE of 0.14%, MAE of 0.10%, and MAPE of 0.093%, with a high C-index of 100%. CatBoost showed reasonable performance, while Gradient Boosting had higher error rates (MSE of 6.99%, MAE of 21.04%, MAPE of 19.29%). Random Forest performed the weakest, with the highest MSE (14.39%), MAE (30.23%), and MAPE (33.58%). Conclusion: Inputting relevant clinical variables into the model enables clinicians to obtain highly accurate survival predictions for patients with brain metastasis. This enhances clinical decision making by providing a more precise understanding of expected outcomes. The XGBoost-based hybrid model showed exceptional accuracy in predicting survival for brain metastasis patients after SRT, offering valuable support for clinical decision making. Integrating machine learning into clinical practice can improve treatment planning and personalize care for these patients.
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spelling doaj-art-b09fa77014cc44c896c69bff3119a9562025-08-20T02:11:04ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252025-03-0115326610.3390/brainsci15030266Survival Prediction in Brain Metastasis Patients Treated with Stereotactic Radiosurgery: A Hybrid Machine Learning ApproachTuğçe Öznacar0İpek Pınar Aral1Hatice Yağmur Zengin2Yılmaz Tezcan3Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara Medipol University, 06570 Ankara, TurkeyRadiation Oncology Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, 06800 Ankara, TurkeyDepartment of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, 06230 Ankara, TurkeyRadiation Oncology Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, 06800 Ankara, TurkeyObjectives: Accurate survival prediction for brain metastasis patients undergoing stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is crucial for personalized treatment planning and improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to develop a machine learning model to estimate survival times, providing clinicians with a reliable tool for making informed decisions based on individual patient characteristics. The goal was to compare the performance of multiple algorithms and identify the most effective model for clinical use. Methods: We applied a hybrid machine learning approach to predict survival in brain metastasis patients treated with SRT, utilizing real-world data. Four algorithms—XGBoost, CatBoost, Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting—were compared within a meta-model framework to identify the most accurate for survival prediction. Model performance was evaluated using metrics such as MSE, MAE, MAPE, and C index. Results: XGBoost outperformed all other algorithms, achieving an MSE of 0.14%, MAE of 0.10%, and MAPE of 0.093%, with a high C-index of 100%. CatBoost showed reasonable performance, while Gradient Boosting had higher error rates (MSE of 6.99%, MAE of 21.04%, MAPE of 19.29%). Random Forest performed the weakest, with the highest MSE (14.39%), MAE (30.23%), and MAPE (33.58%). Conclusion: Inputting relevant clinical variables into the model enables clinicians to obtain highly accurate survival predictions for patients with brain metastasis. This enhances clinical decision making by providing a more precise understanding of expected outcomes. The XGBoost-based hybrid model showed exceptional accuracy in predicting survival for brain metastasis patients after SRT, offering valuable support for clinical decision making. Integrating machine learning into clinical practice can improve treatment planning and personalize care for these patients.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/3/266brain metastasissurvival predictionmachine learninghybrid modelmeta model
spellingShingle Tuğçe Öznacar
İpek Pınar Aral
Hatice Yağmur Zengin
Yılmaz Tezcan
Survival Prediction in Brain Metastasis Patients Treated with Stereotactic Radiosurgery: A Hybrid Machine Learning Approach
Brain Sciences
brain metastasis
survival prediction
machine learning
hybrid model
meta model
title Survival Prediction in Brain Metastasis Patients Treated with Stereotactic Radiosurgery: A Hybrid Machine Learning Approach
title_full Survival Prediction in Brain Metastasis Patients Treated with Stereotactic Radiosurgery: A Hybrid Machine Learning Approach
title_fullStr Survival Prediction in Brain Metastasis Patients Treated with Stereotactic Radiosurgery: A Hybrid Machine Learning Approach
title_full_unstemmed Survival Prediction in Brain Metastasis Patients Treated with Stereotactic Radiosurgery: A Hybrid Machine Learning Approach
title_short Survival Prediction in Brain Metastasis Patients Treated with Stereotactic Radiosurgery: A Hybrid Machine Learning Approach
title_sort survival prediction in brain metastasis patients treated with stereotactic radiosurgery a hybrid machine learning approach
topic brain metastasis
survival prediction
machine learning
hybrid model
meta model
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/3/266
work_keys_str_mv AT tugceoznacar survivalpredictioninbrainmetastasispatientstreatedwithstereotacticradiosurgeryahybridmachinelearningapproach
AT ipekpınararal survivalpredictioninbrainmetastasispatientstreatedwithstereotacticradiosurgeryahybridmachinelearningapproach
AT haticeyagmurzengin survivalpredictioninbrainmetastasispatientstreatedwithstereotacticradiosurgeryahybridmachinelearningapproach
AT yılmaztezcan survivalpredictioninbrainmetastasispatientstreatedwithstereotacticradiosurgeryahybridmachinelearningapproach