Evidence mapPaperPMID 41293261Full record

ArticleFrontiers in oncology2025

Machine learning-driven prediction of intratumoral tertiary lymphoid structures in hepatocellular carcinoma using contrast-enhanced CT imaging and integrated clinical data.

Jun Wu, Zhifan Zuo, Lin Na, Wei Zhang, Yang Guo, Ziwei Zhu, Qiongyuan Ren, Weng Kung Peng, Lei Han

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Jun Wu *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Zhifan Zuo *Gynecological Radiotherapy Ward, Liaoning Provincial Cancer Hospital, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Lin Na *Department of Central Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Wei ZhangDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Yang GuoDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Ziwei ZhuDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Qiongyuan RenDalian Medical University, The General Hospital of Northern Theater Command Training Base for Graduate, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Weng Kung Peng *Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology, Institute of Advanced Co-Creation Studies, The University of Osaka, Osaka, Japan.
Lei Han *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: We developed a machine learning framework to predict the presence of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) within tumors in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This framework uses computed tomography (CT) imaging and clinical data collected before surgery, providing a noninvasive method for prediction. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of HCC patients who underwent surgery at the General Hospital of the Northern Theater Command's Hepatobiliary Surgery Department between January 2017 and October 2024. Using Python software, we extracted radiomic features from preoperative CT images (arterial and portal venous phases). We then selected features associated with intratumoral TLSs using statistical methods, including intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Pearson correlation, t-tests, and LASSO regression. Three models were developed-clinical, radiomics, and combined-using machine learning techniques and independent clinical predictors. A predictive nomogram was created and evaluated using the area under the ROC curve (AUC) and calibration analysis. Results: Our study included 171 HCC patients, with 80 showing negative and 91 showing positive expression of intratumoral TLSs. Multivariate analysis identified the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score as an independent predictor of intratumoral TLSs expression. The combined model demonstrated the highest predictive accuracy, with AUCs of 0.947 in the training set and 0.909 in the validation set, outperforming both the clinical (AUC: 0.709 training, 0.714 validation) and radiomics (AUC: 0.935 training, 0.890 validation) models. Conclusion: Our combined machine learning model, which integrates preoperative CT imaging and clinical data, provides an accurate, noninvasive method for assessing intratumoral TLSs expression in HCC. This tool has the potential to enhance clinical decision-making, guide therapeutic planning, and facilitate personalized treatment strategies for HCC patients.

Indexed as

contrast-enhanced CThepatocellular carcinomaintratumoral tertiary lymphoid structuresmachine learningradiomics

Identifiers

PMID41293261
PMCPMC12640855

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.