Radiomic biomarkers for platinum‐refractory head and neck cancer in the era of immunotherapy

• Published in: Oral diseases Vol. 30; no. 7; pp. 4220 - 4230
• Main Authors: Lu, Hsueh‐Ju, Shen, Chao‐Yu, Chiu, Yu‐Wei, Lin, Wea‐Lung, Peng, Chih‐Yu, Tseng, Hsien‐Chun, Hsin, Chung‐Han, Chuang, Chun‐Yi, Chen, Chun‐Chia, Wu, Ming‐Fang, Huang, Wei‐Shiou, Shen, Wei‐Chih
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Denmark Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2024
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Apoptosis; B7-H1 Antigen - antagonists & inhibitors; Biomarkers; Biomarkers, Tumor; Death; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Female; Head & neck cancer; Head and neck carcinoma; Head and Neck Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Head and Neck Neoplasms - drug therapy; Head and Neck Neoplasms - therapy; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; Humans; Immune checkpoint inhibitors; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors - therapeutic use; immune checkpoint therapy; Immunotherapy; Male; Medical prognosis; Metastases; Middle Aged; PD-L1 protein; Platinum; platinum‐refractory; Prognosis; radiomic features; Radiomics; Retrospective Studies; Risk groups; Squamous cell carcinoma; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck - diagnostic imaging; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck - drug therapy; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck - therapy; radiomic features; biomarkers; immune checkpoint therapy; platinum‐refractory; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
• ISSN: 1354-523X; 1601-0825; 1601-0825
• DOI: 10.1111/odi.14854

Objective Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are recommended as the first‐line therapy for platinum‐refractory head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), a disease with a poor prognosis. However, biomarkers in this situation are rare. The objective was to identify radiomic features‐associated biomarkers to guide the prognosis and treatment opinions in the era of ICI. Methods A total of 31 platinum‐refractory HNSCC patients were retrospectively enrolled. Of these, 65.5% (20/31) received ICI‐based therapy and 35.5% (11/31) did not. Radiomic features of the primary site at the onset of recurrent metastatic (R/M) status were extracted. Prognostic and predictive radiomic biomarkers were analysed. Results The median overall survival from R/M status (R/M OS) was 9.6 months. Grey‐level co‐occurrence matrix‐associated texture features were the most important in identifying the patients with or without 9‐month R/M death. A radiomic risk‐stratification model was established and equally separated the patients into high‐, intermittent‐ and lower‐risk groups (1‐year R/M death rate, 100.0% vs. 70.8% vs. 27.1%, p = 0.001). Short‐run high grey‐level emphasis (SRHGE) was more suitable than programmed death ligand 1 (PD‐L1) expression in selecting whether patients received ICI‐based therapy. Conclusions Radiomic features were effective prognostic and predictive biomarkers. Future studies are warranted.