title: Role of the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance in optimizing CT for the evaluation of lung cancer screen-detected nodules.
abstract: The Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance (QIBA) is a multidisciplinary consortium sponsored by the RSNA to define processes that enable the implementation and advancement of quantitative imaging methods described in a QIBA profile document that outlines the process to reliably and accurately measure imaging features. A QIBA profile includes factors such as technical (product-specific) standards, user activities, and relationship to a clinically meaningful metric, such as with nodule measurement in the course of CT screening for lung cancer. In this report, the authors describe how the QIBA approach is being applied to the measurement of small pulmonary nodules such as those found during low-dose CT-based lung cancer screening. All sources of variance with imaging measurement were defined for this process. Through a process of experimentation, literature review, and assembly of expert opinion, the strongest evidence was used to define how to best implement each step in the imaging acquisition and evaluation process. This systematic approach to implementing a quantitative imaging biomarker with standardized specifications for image acquisition and postprocessing for a specific quantitative measurement of a pulmonary nodule results in consistent performance characteristics of the measurement (eg, bias and variance). Implementation of the QIBA small nodule profile may allow more efficient and effective clinical management of the diagnostic workup of individuals found to have suspicious pulmonary nodules in the course of lung cancer screening evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Rush University, Chicago, Illinois. Electronic address: jmulshin@rush.edu.
authors.forename: James L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Mulshine
authors.affiliation: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Gierada
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Samuel G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Armato
authors.affiliation: US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, District of Columbia.
authors.forename: Rick S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Avila
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York.
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Yankelevitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Ella A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kazerooni
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: McNitt-Gray
authors.affiliation: Elucid Bioimaging Inc, Wenham, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Buckler
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D015415:Biomarkers; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Lung cancer screening; low-dose CT scans; metrology; pulmonary nodules; quantitative imaging biomarker