Radiomics prediction of response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer

Abstract

Rectal cancer (RC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. RC has high morbidity and mortality rates, with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) accounting for > 30% of cases. Patients with LARC are routinely treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) but treatment outcomes vary greatly. It is crucial to predict and evaluate patient response to nCRT as early as possible. Radiomics is a potentially useful and non-invasive tool for clinical applications in different types of cancer including colorectal cancer. Radiomics has recently been used to predict treatment outcomes and many published studies have demonstrated the efficacy of radiomics. This review will discuss the application of radiomics in predicting of LARC response to nCRT and provide new insight for corollary studies.