MRI-based deep learning model in differentiating benign from malignant renal tumors: a comparison study with radiomics analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based deep learning (DL) model in differentiating benign from malignant renal tumors. The performance of the applied DL model was further compared with that from a random forest radiomics model. More robust performance was achieved using MRI based DL model than the radiomics model (AUC = 0.925 vs 0.854, p<0.05). Therefore, the applied MRI based deep transfer learning model might be considered a convenient and reliable approach for differentiating benign from malignant renal tumors in clinic.