UK doctors and scientists have made a breakthrough in rapid cancer detection, all with the help of AI.
The new artificially intelligent algorithm, in development since 2020, has the means to determine whether or not abnormal growths found on CT scans are cancerous, The Guardian reported.
“In the future, we hope it will improve early detection and potentially make cancer treatment more successful by highlighting high-risk patients and accelerating them to earlier intervention,” said investigator Dr. Benjamin Hunter. , registrar for clinical oncology at the Royal Marsden. National Health Service.
In particular, the lungs of 500 patients were analyzed in a study published on the leading technology.
“Based on these initial results, our model appears to accurately identify large cancerous lung nodules,” Hunter said.
“Next, we plan to test the technology in patients with large lung nodules in the clinic to see if it can accurately predict their risk of lung cancer.”
If success continues, this will also expedite the time it takes doctors to make critical decisions about how to proceed with treatment, particularly growth that is medium-risk, according to the outlet.
“Through this work, we hope to push the boundaries of accelerating disease detection using innovative technologies such as AI,” said the study’s principal investigator, Dr. Richard Lee.
“People diagnosed with lung cancer at the earliest stage are much more likely to survive for five years than those whose cancer is detected late,” he added.
Three years ago, Lee explained that this study would also shed light on “subtle changes in patients,” which could explain certain behavioral aspects of their conditions.
“This means that it is a priority that we find ways to speed up detection of the disease, and this study, which is the first to develop a radiomic model specifically targeting large lung nodules, could one day help clinicians identify patients with high risk. .”