AI Enhances Breast Cancer Screening Efficacy

Artificial intelligence has significantly improved breast cancer screening, outperforming standard mammography readings by 20%.

Highlights:

AI outperforms standard mammography readings by discovering 20% more breast cancer cases
Early screening with AI aids in higher chances of successful recovery
Concerns include potential over diagnosis and the need for further testing and training before implementation

AI has become the game-changer for many areas of our day to day lives. Healthcare pavilion has not been an exception to it. Although using machine learning to enhance medical diagnoses is not new, current developments in artificial intelligence have propelled the field.

Breast Cancer, the disease that killed at least 685,000 women worldwide in 2020, according to the WHO. In the United States, the average woman has a 13 percent chance of developing breast cancer in her lifetime — and a roughly 2.5 percent chance of dying of the disease, the American Cancer Society says ().

New study reveals that artificial intelligence can detect breast cancer in mammograms as effectively as professional radiologists. This cutting-edge technology might reduce radiologists' workload by roughly 50%, freeing them up to do more complex diagnostic procedures.

Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Calculator
Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Calculator predicts the risk for breast cancer. Find list of breast cancer facts and more information on signs and symptoms of breast cancer and mammography.

‘AI Detection of Breast Cancer, Reduces Radiologists’ workload by 50% #BreastCancer #AI’

AI Study in Breast Cancer

A early review of a long-term trial involving 80,000 women in Sweden, which was released on Tuesday in the journal Lancet Oncology, revealed that mammography readings by artificial intelligence (AI) really discovered 20% more incidences of breast cancer than the "standard" reading by two radiologists.

As a result, the researchers came to the conclusion that applying AI to mammography screening is a "safe" strategy to shorten patient wait times. It also ease the burden on radiologists in the face of a global scarcity of radiologists.

Quiz on Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women. It is often said that a woman who breast-feeds is at a lower risk of developing cancer compared to another who does not .Are these mere old wives tales or is there some truth in it? This quiz on breast cancer has all the details.

Significance of AI Application in Breast Cancer Screening

By ensuring that breast cancer is discovered sooner, when it is more curable, may ultimately reduce the mortality rate from breast cancer.

The results of this study are consistent with recent studies that suggest AI may aid in the early or more precise detection of cancer in people, thereby improving patient outcomes.

Additionally, the AI model gave radiologists data from the preliminary screening to aid in their accurate interpretation of mammograms. Women were urged to return for additional testing if the mammograms were flagged as abnormal ().

Early screening also plays a huge role in recovery because it has high chances for cure in initial stages.

Consumption of Red Meat Increases Breast Cancer Risk
Red meat consumption has long been suspected of contributing to cancer development. Find out how much red meat is too much.

Concerns Regarding AI in Breast Cancer Screening

The AI-supported screening may over diagnose or miss malignancies that pose little danger to patients while finding more cancers.

The study found that tests carried out with AI's assistance found more "in situ" tumors, or malignant cells that haven't spread yet and may turn out to be low-grade. This might cause people to over-treat conditions that aren't actually a hazard, such as by having mastectomies, or the surgical removal of one or both breasts.

The inability to evaluate if AI-supported screenings are more effective at spotting malignancies in particular groups than others is another drawback. This is because the study did not collect information on the race and ethnicity of the patients.

It may take some time before mammograms can be read by a machine, according to specialists who have cautioned that more training and testing of AI models are needed before they can be utilized in healthcare settings.

Even Though there are numerous raised concerns regarding the usage of AI screening, given that breast cancer is the "world's most prevalent cancer," this would be a tremendous victory.

References:

Breast Cancer Screening (PDQ®)–Patient Version - (https://www.cancer.gov/types/breast/patient/breast-screening-pdq)
Breast cancer - (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/breast-cancer)

Source-Medindia

Breast Cancer
Breast cancer develops from breast tissue. Most common cancer in women Get instant visual information on breast cancer.