Prior information guided deep-learning model for tumor bed segmentation in breast cancer radiotherapy

Abstract Background and purpose Tumor bed (TB) is the residual cavity of resected tumor after surgery. Delineating TB from CT is crucial in generating clinical target volume for radiotherapy. Due to multiple surgical effects and low image contrast, segmenting TB from soft tissue is challenging. In c...

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Main Authors: Peng Huang, Hui Yan, Jiawen Shang, Xin Xie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-11-01
Series:BMC Medical Imaging
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12880-024-01469-0
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author Peng Huang
Hui Yan
Jiawen Shang
Xin Xie
author_facet Peng Huang
Hui Yan
Jiawen Shang
Xin Xie
author_sort Peng Huang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background and purpose Tumor bed (TB) is the residual cavity of resected tumor after surgery. Delineating TB from CT is crucial in generating clinical target volume for radiotherapy. Due to multiple surgical effects and low image contrast, segmenting TB from soft tissue is challenging. In clinical practice, titanium clips were used as marks to guide the searching of TB. However, this information is limited and may cause large error. To provide more prior location information, the tumor regions on both pre-operative and post-operative CTs are both used by the deep learning model in segmenting TB from surrounding tissues. Materials and methods For breast cancer patient after surgery and going to be treated by radiotherapy, it is important to delineate the target volume for treatment planning. In clinical practice, the target volume is usually generated from TB by adding a certain margin. Therefore, it is crucial to identify TB from soft tissue. To facilitate this process, a deep learning model is developed to segment TB from CT with the guidance of prior tumor location. Initially, the tumor contour on the pre-operative CT is delineated by physician for surgical planning purpose. Then this contour is transformed to the post-operative CT via the deformable image registration between paired pre-operative and post-operative CTs. The original and transformed tumor regions are both used as inputs for predicting the possible region of TB by the deep-learning model. Results Compared to the one without prior tumor contour information, the dice similarity coefficient of the deep-learning model with the prior tumor contour information is improved significantly (0.812 vs. 0.520, P = 0.001). Compared to the traditional gray-level thresholding method, the dice similarity coefficient of the deep-learning model with the prior tumor contour information is improved significantly (0.812 vs.0.633, P = 0.0005). Conclusions The prior tumor contours on both pre-operative and post-operative CTs provide valuable information in searching for the precise location of TB on post-operative CT. The proposed method provided a feasible way to assist auto-segmentation of TB in treatment planning of radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery.
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spelling doaj-art-d528fec0e6a848c8a56580c0ee3e18ad2025-08-20T02:22:29ZengBMCBMC Medical Imaging1471-23422024-11-012411710.1186/s12880-024-01469-0Prior information guided deep-learning model for tumor bed segmentation in breast cancer radiotherapyPeng Huang0Hui Yan1Jiawen Shang2Xin Xie3Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeDepartment of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeDepartment of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Oncology School of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Cancer HospitalAbstract Background and purpose Tumor bed (TB) is the residual cavity of resected tumor after surgery. Delineating TB from CT is crucial in generating clinical target volume for radiotherapy. Due to multiple surgical effects and low image contrast, segmenting TB from soft tissue is challenging. In clinical practice, titanium clips were used as marks to guide the searching of TB. However, this information is limited and may cause large error. To provide more prior location information, the tumor regions on both pre-operative and post-operative CTs are both used by the deep learning model in segmenting TB from surrounding tissues. Materials and methods For breast cancer patient after surgery and going to be treated by radiotherapy, it is important to delineate the target volume for treatment planning. In clinical practice, the target volume is usually generated from TB by adding a certain margin. Therefore, it is crucial to identify TB from soft tissue. To facilitate this process, a deep learning model is developed to segment TB from CT with the guidance of prior tumor location. Initially, the tumor contour on the pre-operative CT is delineated by physician for surgical planning purpose. Then this contour is transformed to the post-operative CT via the deformable image registration between paired pre-operative and post-operative CTs. The original and transformed tumor regions are both used as inputs for predicting the possible region of TB by the deep-learning model. Results Compared to the one without prior tumor contour information, the dice similarity coefficient of the deep-learning model with the prior tumor contour information is improved significantly (0.812 vs. 0.520, P = 0.001). Compared to the traditional gray-level thresholding method, the dice similarity coefficient of the deep-learning model with the prior tumor contour information is improved significantly (0.812 vs.0.633, P = 0.0005). Conclusions The prior tumor contours on both pre-operative and post-operative CTs provide valuable information in searching for the precise location of TB on post-operative CT. The proposed method provided a feasible way to assist auto-segmentation of TB in treatment planning of radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12880-024-01469-0Tumor bedRadiotherapyDeep learningSegmentation
spellingShingle Peng Huang
Hui Yan
Jiawen Shang
Xin Xie
Prior information guided deep-learning model for tumor bed segmentation in breast cancer radiotherapy
BMC Medical Imaging
Tumor bed
Radiotherapy
Deep learning
Segmentation
title Prior information guided deep-learning model for tumor bed segmentation in breast cancer radiotherapy
title_full Prior information guided deep-learning model for tumor bed segmentation in breast cancer radiotherapy
title_fullStr Prior information guided deep-learning model for tumor bed segmentation in breast cancer radiotherapy
title_full_unstemmed Prior information guided deep-learning model for tumor bed segmentation in breast cancer radiotherapy
title_short Prior information guided deep-learning model for tumor bed segmentation in breast cancer radiotherapy
title_sort prior information guided deep learning model for tumor bed segmentation in breast cancer radiotherapy
topic Tumor bed
Radiotherapy
Deep learning
Segmentation
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12880-024-01469-0
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AT huiyan priorinformationguideddeeplearningmodelfortumorbedsegmentationinbreastcancerradiotherapy
AT jiawenshang priorinformationguideddeeplearningmodelfortumorbedsegmentationinbreastcancerradiotherapy
AT xinxie priorinformationguideddeeplearningmodelfortumorbedsegmentationinbreastcancerradiotherapy