CCM Seminar: Shariq Mohammed

Title: “Radiohead: Radiogenomic analysis incorporating tumor heterogeneity in imaging through densities”

Abstract: Recent technological advancements have enabled detailed investigation of associations between the molecular architecture and tumor heterogeneity, through multi-source integration of radiological imaging and genomic (radiogenomic) data. We integrate and harness radiogenomic data in patients with lower grade gliomas (LGG), a type of brain cancer, in order to develop a regression framework called RADIOHEAD (RADIOgenomic analysis incorporating tumor HEterogeneity in imAging through Densities) to identify radiogenomic associations. Imaging data is represented through voxel intensity probability density functions of tumor sub-regions obtained from multimodal magnetic resonance imaging, and genomic data through molecular signatures in the form of pathway enrichment scores based on gene expression profiles. Employing a Riemannian-geometric framework for principal component analysis on the set of probability densities functions, we map each probability density to a vector of principal component scores, which are then included as predictors in a Bayesian regression model with the pathway enrichment scores as the response. Variable selection compatible with the grouping structure amongst the predictors induced through the tumor sub-regions is carried out under a group spike-and-slab prior. Our analyses reveal several pathways relevant to LGG etiology to have significant associations with the corresponding imaging-based predictors.