Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To develop a multi-modality machine learning-based radiomics model utilizing Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Ultrasound (US), and Mammography (MMG) for the differentiation of benign and malignant breast nodules. METHODS: This study retrospectively collected data from 204 patients across three hospitals, including MRI, US, and MMG imaging data along with confirmed pathological diagnoses. Lesions on 2D US, 2D MMG, and 3D MRI images were selected to outline the areas of interest, which were then automatically expanded outward by 3 mm, 5 mm, and 8 mm to extract radiomic features within and around the tumor. ANOVA, the maximum correlation minimum redundancy (mRMR) algorithm, and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were used to select features for breast cancer diagnosis through logistic regression analysis. The performance of the radiomics models was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, curves decision curve analysis (DCA), and calibration curves. RESULTS: Among the various radiomics models tested, the MRI_US_MMG multi-modality logistic regression model with 5 mm peritumoral features demonstrated the best performance. In the test cohort, this model achieved an AUC of 0.905(95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.805-1). These results suggest that the inclusion of peritumoral features, specifically at a 5 mm expansion, significantly enhanced the diagnostic efficiency of the multi-modality radiomics model in differentiating benign from malignant breast nodules. CONCLUSIONS: The multi-modality radiomics model based on MRI, ultrasound, and mammography can predict benign and malignant breast lesions.