Radiomics nomogram for the preoperative prediction of lymph node metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

To develop and validate a radiomics nomogram for the preoperative prediction of lymph node (LN) metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). In this retrospective study, 225 patients with surgically resected, pathologically confirmed PDAC underwent multislice computed tomography (MSCT) between January 2014 and January 2017. Radiomics features were extracted from arterial CT scans. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method was used to select the features. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to develop the predictive model, and a radiomics nomogram was built and internally validated in 45 consecutive patients with PDAC between February 2017 and December 2017. The performance of the nomogram was assessed in the training and validation cohort. Finally, the clinical usefulness of the nomogram was estimated using decision curve analysis (DCA). The radiomics signature, which consisted of 13 selected features of the arterial phase, was significantly associated with LN status (p