Interpretable machine learning using CT radiomics predicts pathological upgrading after secondary resection in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Repeat transurethral resection (ReTUR) is essential for reducing residual and recurrent non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Pathological upstaging after ReTUR significantly influences prognosis. This study aimed to develop an interpretable machine learning model using CT radiomics to predict the risk of pathological upstaging following ReTUR in NMIBC patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 104 NMIBC patients who underwent ReTUR at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from March 2019 to July 2022. Data were split 7:3 into training and internal validation sets. An external validation set included 40 patients from two other hospitals. Radiomic features were extracted from preoperative CT scans. Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify predictors of pathological upstaging. Four machine learning models, including Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT), Random Forest (RF), and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), were constructed and evaluated using AUC, accuracy, precision, F1 score, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA). The best model was interpreted via SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) to identify key predictive features. RESULTS: Tumor grade (OR = 7.02, 95% CI: 1.17–42.21), tumor size (OR = 5.83, 95% CI: 1.21–28.15), and tumor number (OR = 6.83, 95% CI: 1.18–39.52) were independent risk factors. From 4,738 radiomic features, nine were selected. The XGBoost model outperformed others, with an AUC of 0.804 (95% CI: 0.756–0.862), accuracy of 77.4%, precision of 82.7%, and F1 score of 0.701 in internal validation. External validation confirmed its robustness. SHAP analysis highlighted Wavelet_LLH_firstorder_Maximum.1, Gradient_ngtdm_Complexity, and tumor grade as top predictors. The model showed good calibration and clinical utility on DCA. CONCLUSION: An interpretable CT radiomics-based machine learning model integrating clinical and imaging features was developed to accurately predict pathological upstaging risk after ReTUR in NMIBC patients. This tool may support clinical decision-making for individualized treatment after multicenter validation.