Shkatula P. Y., Moskalenko Y. V.

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN QUANTITATIVE PARAMETERS AND RADIOMIC FEATURES OF ORBITAL ADIPOSE TISSUE IN PATIENTS WITH NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER

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Shkatula P. Y., Moskalenko Y. V.

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CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE

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Scientific article

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Radiomic analysis enables the extraction of quantitative features from computed tomography (CT) images that reflect the spatial organization and heterogeneity of tissues. In recent years, growing interest has focused on the use of adipose tissue radiomics as a potential source of non-invasive biomarkers of systemic metabolic and immunological processes. However, it remains unclear whether the radiomic characteristics of orbital adipose tissue merely reflect its quantitative properties or provide additional information regarding its intrinsic structural organization. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between quantitative parameters and radiomic features of orbital adipose tissue in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. This retrospective single-center study included 86 patients with histologically confirmed stage IV non-small cell lung cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Orbital adipose tissue was segmented on pretreatment head CT images, and its total volume and CT attenuation were measured. Six radiomic features were subsequently extracted using the PyRadiomics platform. Associations were assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation analysis and the Mann– Whitney U test. No statistically significant correlations were found between total orbital adipose tissue volume and any of the investigated radiomic features (all P>0.05). CT attenuation demonstrated only weak negative correlations with Variance (ρ= −0.24, P=0.027) and Entropy (ρ= −0.21, P=0.049). Weak to moderate correlations were observed among most radiomic features, whereas the strongest association was identified between Kurtosis and Skewness (ρ=0.81, P<0.001). Comparative analysis revealed no significant differences in radiomic features between patient groups stratified according to the median values of orbital adipose tissue volume or CT attenuation. Radiomic features also demonstrated only isolated weak associations with markers of systemic inflammation and showed no significant correlations with body mass index. In conclusion, radiomic features of orbital adipose tissue are largely independent of its conventional quantitative parameters, nutritional status, and systemic inflammatory markers, suggesting that they capture additional aspects of the tissue’s intrinsic structural organization. These findings support the potential of orbital adipose tissue as a novel source of non-invasive radiomic biomarkers in oncology.

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Publication of the article:

«Bulletin of problems biology and medicine», 2026 Issue 3, 182, 354-360 pages, index UDC 616.24-006.6:616-073.75:004.932

DOI:

10.29254/2077-4214-2026-3-182-354-360