Clinical Focus ›› 2025, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (8): 711-716.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-583X.2025.08.007

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Value of texture analysis of histograms of energy spectrum CT images in differentiating bone islands from osteoblastic bone metastases

Wang Bohuan1, Huang Junbin1, Li Zhiqiong1, Xiong Yuchao1, Guo Wei2, Zeng Xuwen1()   

  1. 1. Department of Radiology, Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital (Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital Affiliated to Jinan University), Guangzhou 510220, China
    2. Department of Radiology, the Third Hospital of Wuhan City (Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University), Wuhan 430000, China
  • Received:2025-04-28 Online:2025-08-20 Published:2025-09-05
  • Contact: Zeng Xuwen E-mail:gzshszhyyfsk@163.com

Abstract:

Objective To compare the diagnostic performance of dual-energy computed tomography (CT) images combined with histogram texture analysis in differentiating osteoblastic bone metastases (OBM) from bone islands (BI). Methods Ninety-four patients (216 lesions) undergoing spectral CT in Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital from March 21, 2023 to September 1, 2023 were enrolled. They were divided into BI group (n=81, 125 lesions) and OBM group (n=13, 91 lesions). Spectral images were reconstructed using a spectral analysis platform, generating nine monochromatic images (40-200 keV, 20 keV intervals) and conventional polychromatic images. Histogram texture parameters (entropy, mean, and maximum) were extracted from the maximal cross-sectional area of each lesion using Pyromics software. Diagnostic performance was evaluated via the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and DeLong's test compared parameter efficacy. Results At 40 keV, entropy in gray-level histogram texture analysis demonstrated a superior discrimination of OBM from BI, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.934(95%CI: 0.895-0.973). Entropy of conventional images by reconstructed spectral CT yielded an AUC of 0.910(95%CI: 0.872-0.949). DeLong's test confirmed significant superiority of 40 keV entropy over conventional CT (P<0.05). Conclusion Entropy of histogram texture parameters based on a 40 keV image of a plain spectral CT scan can effectively distinguish OBMs from BIs, which is higher than that of traditional images reconstructed from spectral CT.

Key words: spectral CT, osteoblastic bone metastasis, bone island

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