Role of AI and Radiomic Markers in Early Diagnosis of Renal Cancer and Clinical Outcome Prediction: A Brief Review

Simple SummaryRenal cancer (RC) is ranked tenth among all types of cancer in men and women worldwide. Artificial intelligence (AI) and radiomics have allowed the development of AI-based computer-aided diagnostic/prediction (AI-based CAD/CAP) systems for noninvasive and precise diagnosis of RC and prediction of clinical outcome at an early stage. This, in turn, can conserve time, effort, and resources, ultimately benefiting both patients and healthcare providers. This review summarizes the studies from the last decade that used AI and radiomic markers for the early diagnosis of RC and prediction/assessment of clinical outcome/treatment response. Finally, a deep discussion, suggestions, and possible future avenues for improving diagnostic and treatment prediction performance is introduced, which might help fill the research gap.Globally, renal cancer (RC) is the 10th most common cancer among men and women. The new era of artificial intelligence (AI) and radiomics have allowed the development of AI-based computer-aided diagnostic/prediction (AI-based CAD/CAP) systems, which have shown promise for the diagnosis of RC (i.e., subtyping, grading, and staging) and prediction of clinical outcomes at an early stage. This will absolutely help reduce diagnosis time, enhance diagnostic abilities, reduce invasiveness, and provide guidance for appropriate management procedures to avoid the burden of unresponsive treatment plans. This survey mainly has three primary aims. The first aim is to highlight the most recent technical diagnostic studies developed in the last decade, with their findings and limitations, that have taken the advantages of AI and radiomic markers derived from either computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) images to develop AI-based CAD systems for accurate diagnosis of renal tumors at an early stage. The second aim is to highlight the few studies that have utilized AI and radiomic markers, with their findings and limitations, to predict patients' clinical outcome/treatment response, including possible recurrence after treatment, overall survival, and progression-free survival in patients with renal tumors. The promising findings of the aforementioned studies motivated us to highlight the optimal AI-based radiomic makers that are correlated with the diagnosis of renal tumors and prediction/assessment of patients' clinical outcomes. Finally, we conclude with a discussion and possible future avenues for improving diagnostic and treatment prediction performance.

Automated summary

Renal cancer (RC) is ranked tenth among all types of cancer in men and women worldwide. Artificial intelligence (AI) and radiomics have allowed the development of AI-based computer-aided diagnostic/prediction (AI-based CAD/CAP) systems for noninvasive and precise diagnosis of RC and prediction of clinical outcome at an early stage. This review summarizes the studies from the last decade that used AI and radiomic markers for the early diagnosis of RC and prediction/assessment of clinical outcome/treatment response. Finally, a deep discussion, suggestions, and possible future avenues for improving diagnostic and treatment prediction performance is introduced, which might help fill the research gap.