Table 2.
Clinical and treatment characteristics of the patient’s cohort
| Traininga [6] | Validationb (present study) | Difference significance (p value) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | 162 | 59 | |
| Age—c yr | |||
| Median | 65.0 | 56.0 | 0.67 |
| Range | 28.0–83.0 | 34.0–75.0 | |
| Sex—no. (%) | |||
| Male | 123 (75.9) | 47 (79.7) | 0.56 |
| Female | 39 (24.1) | 12 (20.3) | |
| T stage—d no. (%) | |||
| T2 | 15 (9.3) | 6 (10.2) | 0.98 |
| T3 | 95 (58.6) | 34 (57.6) | |
| T4 | 52 (32.1) | 19 (32.2) | |
| N stage—d no. (%) | |||
| N0 | 9 (5.6) | 25 (42.4) | < 0.05 |
| N1 | 58 (35.8) | 24 (40.7) | |
| N2 | 95 (58.6) | 10 (16.9) | |
| MR scanner strengthe | |||
| 1.5 T no (%) | 162 (100.0) | 32 (54.2) | < 0.05 |
| 3.0 T no (%) | – | 27 (45.8) | |
| Interval MRIe and start CRTf-moe | |||
| Median (range) | 1.4 (0.0–10.0) | 0.9 (0.7–1.0) | < 0.05 |
| Interval end CRTf and surgery-mog | |||
| RT short course: median/range | – | 0.3 (0.3–0.5) | < 0.05 |
| RT long course: median/range | 2.6 (1.1) | 1.9 (1.0–2.7) | |
| RT course—no (%)h | |||
| Short (5fr × 5 Gy) | – | 19 (32.2) | < 0.05 |
Statistical tests results investigating significant differences are reported in the last column: chi-square test was performed for categorical variables, Wilcoxon Mann Whitney for continuous ones
aCohort 1: European Cohort, used for the training and first validation of the model
bCohort 2: Intercontinental cohort
cyr years
dno. number
eMR/MRI magnetic resonance/magnetic resonance imaging
fCRT chemoradiotherapy
gmo. months
hRT radiotherapy