Association of the pathomics-collagen signature with lymph node metastasis in colorectal cancer: a retrospective multicenter study

作者：Wei Jiang, Huaiming Wang, Huaiming Wang, Xiaoyu Dong, Yandong Zhao, Chenyan Long, Dexin Chen, Botao Yan, Jiaxin Cheng, Zexi Lin, Shuangmu Zhuo, Hui Wang, Hui Wang, Jun Yan · 发表于：Journal of Translational Medicine · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1186/s12967-024-04851-2 · 被引用次数：15 · 研究领域：Colorectal Cancer Surgical Treatments、Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis、Advanced X-ray and CT Imaging

BACKGROUND: Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is a prognostic biomarker and affects therapeutic selection in colorectal cancer (CRC). Current evaluation methods are not adequate for estimating LNM in CRC. H&E images contain much pathological information, and collagen also affects the biological behavior of tumor cells. Hence, the objective of the study is to investigate whether a fully quantitative pathomics-collagen signature (PCS) in the tumor microenvironment can be used to predict LNM. METHODS: Patients with histologically confirmed stage I-III CRC who underwent radical surgery were included in the training cohort (n = 329), the internal validation cohort (n = 329), and the external validation cohort (n = 315). Fully quantitative pathomics features and collagen features were extracted from digital H&E images and multiphoton images of specimens, respectively. LASSO regression was utilized to develop the PCS. Then, a PCS-nomogram was constructed incorporating the PCS and clinicopathological predictors for estimating LNM in the training cohort. The performance of the PCS-nomogram was evaluated via calibration, discrimination, and clinical usefulness. Furthermore, the PCS-nomogram was tested in internal and external validation cohorts. RESULTS: By LASSO regression, the PCS was developed based on 11 pathomics and 9 collagen features. A significant association was found between the PCS and LNM in the three cohorts (P < 0.001). Then, the PCS-nomogram based on PCS, preoperative CEA lev...