Promoting the application of pediatric radiomics via an integrated medical engineering approach

Abstract

Radiomics is widely used in adult tumors but has been rarely applied to the field of pediatrics. Promoting the application of radiomics in pediatric diseases, especially in the early diagnosis and stratified treatment of tumors, is of great value to the realization of the WHO 2030 “Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer.” This paper discusses the general characteristics of radiomics, the particularity of its application to pediatric diseases, and the current status and prospects of pediatric radiomics. Radiomics is a data‐driven science, and the combination of medicine and engineering plays a decisive role in improving data quality, data diversity, and sample size. Compared with adult radiomics, pediatric radiomics is significantly different in data type, disease spectrum, disease staging, and progression. Some progress has been made in the identification, classification, stratification, survival prediction, and prognosis of tumor diseases. In the future, big data applications from multiple centers and cross‐talent training should be strengthened to improve the benefits for clinical workers and children.

Recent Advancements and Innovations in Pediatric Precision Oncology

“…Radiomics Radiomics of pediatric neuro-oncology-Madhogarhia et al 40 Applications of pediatric radiomics-Zheng et al 41…”

“…With the successful implementation of precision oncology into pediatric clinical trials, comprehensive genomic analysis is now being performed across the spectrum of hematologic and solid pediatric malignancies. Key to this expanded application of molecular testing has been the development of novel precision medicine technologies and methodologies (Table 2), 26–48 which have contributed to more expansive biomarker detection, improved subgroup classification, increasingly refined prognostic stratification, and ultimately superior targeted therapy options. With this information, patients with lower risk classification can be prioritized for less intensive therapy to reduce toxicities while high-risk individuals can receive a tailored, more aggressive treatment approach.…”