Predictive Value of Machine Learning for Platinum Chemotherapy Responses in Ovarian Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background

Machine learning is a potentially effective method for predicting the response to platinum-based treatment for ovarian cancer. However, the predictive performance of various machine learning methods and variables is still a matter of controversy and debate.

Objective

This study aims to systematically review relevant literature on the predictive value of machine learning for platinum-based chemotherapy responses in patients with ovarian cancer.

Methods

Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, we systematically searched the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases for relevant studies on predictive models for platinum-based therapies for the treatment of ovarian cancer published before April 26, 2023. The Prediction Model Risk of Bias Assessment tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias in the included articles. Concordance index (C-index), sensitivity, and specificity were used to evaluate the performance of the prediction models to investigate the predictive value of machine learning for platinum chemotherapy responses in patients with ovarian cancer.

Results

A total of 1749 articles were examined, and 19 of them involving 39 models were eligible for this study. The most commonly used modeling methods were logistic regression (16/39, 41%), Extreme Gradient Boosting (4/39, 10%), and support vector machine (4/39, 10%). The training cohort reported C-index in 39 predictive models, with a pooled value of 0.806; the validation cohort reported C-index in 12 predictive models, with a pooled value of 0.831. Support vector machine performed well in both the training and validation cohorts, with a C-index of 0.942 and 0.879, respectively. The pooled sensitivity was 0.890, and the pooled specificity was 0.790 in the training cohort.

Conclusions

Machine learning can effectively predict how patients with ovarian cancer respond to platinum-based chemotherapy and may provide a reference for the development or updating of subsequent scoring systems.