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Article

Ultrasound-Based Deep Learning Radiomics Models for Predicting Primary and Secondary Salivary Gland Malignancies: A Multicenter Retrospective Study

1
Department of Ultrasound, Jiangsu Cancer Hospital & Jiangsu Institute of Cancer Research & The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210009, China
2
Department of Pathology, Jiangsu Cancer Hospital & Jiangsu Institute of Cancer Research & The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210009, China
3
Department of Ultrasound, The 902nd Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force, Bengbu 233000, China
4
Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
5
Department of Ultrasound, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226006, China
6
Department of Ultrasound, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211100, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
These authors contribute equally to this work.
Bioengineering 2025, 12(4), 391; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12040391 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 27 January 2025 / Revised: 25 March 2025 / Accepted: 1 April 2025 / Published: 5 April 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostic Imaging and Radiation Therapy in Biomedical Engineering)

Abstract

Background: Primary and secondary salivary gland malignancies differ significantly in treatment and prognosis. However, conventional ultrasonography often struggles to differentiate between these malignancies due to overlapping imaging features. We aimed to develop and evaluate noninvasive diagnostic models based on traditional ultrasound features, radiomics, and deep learning—independently or in combination—for distinguishing between primary and secondary salivary gland malignancies. Methods: This retrospective study included a total of 140 patients, comprising 68 with primary and 72 with secondary salivary gland malignancies, all pathologically confirmed, from four medical centers. Ultrasound features of salivary gland tumors were analyzed, and a radiomics model was established. Transfer learning with multiple pre-trained models was used to create deep learning (DL) models from which features were extracted and combined with radiomics features to construct a radiomics-deep learning (RadiomicsDL) model. A combined model was further developed by integrating ultrasound features. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and various machine learning algorithms were employed for feature selection and modeling. The optimal model was determined based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and interpretability was assessed using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). Results: The RadiomicsDL model, which combines radiomics and deep learning features using the Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), demonstrated the best performance on the test set with an AUC of 0.807. This surpassed the performances of the ultrasound (US), radiomics, DL, and combined models, which achieved AUCs of 0.421, 0.636, 0.763, and 0.711, respectively. SHAP analysis revealed that the radiomic feature Wavelet_LHH_glcm_SumEntropy contributed most significantly to the mode. Conclusions: The RadiomicsDL model based on ultrasound images provides an efficient and non-invasive method to differentiate between primary and secondary salivary gland malignancies.
Keywords: salivary gland malignancies; ultrasound; radiomics; deep learning; interpretability salivary gland malignancies; ultrasound; radiomics; deep learning; interpretability

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Xia, Z.; Huang, X.-C.; Xu, X.-Y.; Miao, Q.; Wang, M.; Wu, M.-J.; Zhang, H.; Jiang, Q.; Zhuang, J.; Wei, Q.; et al. Ultrasound-Based Deep Learning Radiomics Models for Predicting Primary and Secondary Salivary Gland Malignancies: A Multicenter Retrospective Study. Bioengineering 2025, 12, 391. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12040391

AMA Style

Xia Z, Huang X-C, Xu X-Y, Miao Q, Wang M, Wu M-J, Zhang H, Jiang Q, Zhuang J, Wei Q, et al. Ultrasound-Based Deep Learning Radiomics Models for Predicting Primary and Secondary Salivary Gland Malignancies: A Multicenter Retrospective Study. Bioengineering. 2025; 12(4):391. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12040391

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xia, Zhen, Xiao-Chen Huang, Xin-Yu Xu, Qing Miao, Ming Wang, Meng-Jie Wu, Hao Zhang, Qi Jiang, Jing Zhuang, Qiang Wei, and et al. 2025. "Ultrasound-Based Deep Learning Radiomics Models for Predicting Primary and Secondary Salivary Gland Malignancies: A Multicenter Retrospective Study" Bioengineering 12, no. 4: 391. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12040391

APA Style

Xia, Z., Huang, X.-C., Xu, X.-Y., Miao, Q., Wang, M., Wu, M.-J., Zhang, H., Jiang, Q., Zhuang, J., Wei, Q., & Zhang, W. (2025). Ultrasound-Based Deep Learning Radiomics Models for Predicting Primary and Secondary Salivary Gland Malignancies: A Multicenter Retrospective Study. Bioengineering, 12(4), 391. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12040391

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