A prediction model based on digital breast pathology image information

Background: The workload of breast cancer pathological diagnosis is very heavy. The purpose of this study is to establish a nomogram model based on pathological images to predict the benign and malignant nature of breast diseases and to validate its predictive performance.

Methods: In retrospect, a total of 2,723 H&E-stained pathological images were collected from 1,474 patients at Qingdao Central Hospital between 2019 and 2022. The dataset consisted of 509 benign tumor images (adenosis and fibroadenoma) and 2,214 malignant tumor images (infiltrating ductal carcinoma). The images were divided into a training set (1,907) and a validation set (816). Python3.7 was used to extract the values of the R channel, G channel, B channel, and one-dimensional information entropy from all images. Multivariable logistic regression was used to select variables and establish the breast tissue pathological image prediction model.

Results: The R channel value, B channel value, and one-dimensional information entropy of the images were identified as independent predictive factors for the classification of benign and malignant pathological images (P < 0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the nomogram model in the training set was 0.889 (95% CI: 0.869, 0.909), and the AUC in the validation set was 0.838 (95% CI: 0.7980.877). The calibration curve results showed that the calibration curve of this nomogram model was close to the ideal curve. The decision curve results indicated that the predictive model curve had a high value for auxiliary diagnosis.

Conclusion: The nomogram model for the prediction of benign and malignant breast diseases based on pathological images demonstrates good predictive performance. This model can assist in the diagnosis of breast tissue pathological images.