Introduction to radiomics for a clinical audience

Radiomics is a rapidly developing field of research focused on the extraction of quantitative features from medical images, thus converting these digital images into minable, high-dimensional data, which offer unique biological information that can enhance our understanding of disease processes and provide clinical decision support. To date, most radiomics research has been focused on oncological applications; however, it is increasingly being used in a raft of other diseases. This review gives an overview of radiomics for a clinical audience, including the radiomics pipeline and the common pitfalls associated with each stage. Key studies in oncology are presented with a focus on both those that use radiomics analysis alone and those that integrate its use with other multimodal data streams. Importantly, clinical applications outside oncology are also presented. Finally, we conclude by offering a vision for radiomics research in the future, including how it might impact our practice as radiologists.

Mucinous versus medullary breast carcinoma: mammography, ultrasound, and MRI findings

Mucinous and medullary breast cancers (BCs) have different histological substrates that manifest as different imaging features on mammography, ultrasound, and MRI. The aim of the present review is to demonstrate the differences between these two rare BC subtypes and to describe the microscopic features, review the imaging methods for detection of both cancer subtypes, illustrate the imaging findings and present useful pearls and pitfalls. Out of a total of 30 patients with mucinous BC and nine with medullary BC, we have selected typical and also unusual imaging features that best represent these cancers. The patients underwent a mammography and breast ultrasound followed by magnetic resonance imaging. We briefly exhibit histological characteristics for a better understanding of the imaging aspects.