A recent study in The Lancet Oncology showed that AI found 20 percent more cancers on mammogram screens than radiologists alone.
Published in The Lancet Oncology, the study analyzed the scans of 80,000 Swedish women with a moderate hereditary risk of breast cancer who had undergone a mammogram between April 2021 and July 2022. Half of these scans were read by AI and then a radiologist to double-check the findings. The second group of scans was read by two researchers without the help of AI. (Currently, the standard of care across Europe is to have two radiologists analyze a scan before diagnosing a patient with breast cancer.)
The study showed that the AI group detected cancer in 6 out of every 1,000 scans, while the radiologists detected cancer in 5 per 1,000 scans. In other words, AI found 20 percent more cancers than the highly-trained radiologists.
Scientists have been using MRI images (like the ones pictured here) to train artificial intelligence to detect cancers earlier and with more accuracy. Here, MIT's AI system, MIRAI, looks for patterns in a patient's mammograms to detect breast cancer earlier than ever before. news.mit.edu
But even though the AI was better able to pinpoint cancer on an image, it doesn’t mean radiologists will soon be out of a job. Dr. Laura Heacock, a breast radiologist at NYU, said in an interview with CNN that radiologists do much more than simply screening mammograms, and that even well-trained technology can make errors. “These tools work best when paired with highly-trained radiologists who make the final call on your mammogram. Think of it as a tool like a stethoscope for a cardiologist.”
AI is still an emerging technology, but more and more doctors are using them to detect different cancers. For example, researchers at MIT have developed a program called MIRAI, which looks at patterns in patient mammograms across a series of scans and uses an algorithm to model a patient's risk of developing breast cancer over time. The program was "trained" with more than 200,000 breast imaging scans from Massachusetts General Hospital and has been tested on over 100,000 women in different hospitals across the world. According to MIT, MIRAI "has been shown to be more accurate in predicting the risk for developing breast cancer in the short term (over a 3-year period) compared to traditional tools." It has also been able to detect breast cancer up to five years before a patient receives a diagnosis.
The challenges for cancer-detecting AI tools now is not just accuracy. AI tools are also being challenged to perform consistently well across different ages, races, and breast density profiles, particularly given the increased risks that different women face. For example, Black women are 42 percent more likely than white women to die from breast cancer, despite having nearly the same rates of breast cancer as white women. Recently, an FDA-approved AI device for screening breast cancer has come under fire for wrongly detecting cancer in Black patients significantly more often than white patients.
As AI technology improves, radiologists will be able to accurately scan a more diverse set of patients at a larger volume than ever before, potentially saving more lives than ever.
GOOD10: The Pandemic Issue explores big-picture ways that science innovation and communication can usher in a more equitable, more progress-oriented, and safer world.
This issue is a collaboration among GOOD, leapsmag, and the Aspen Institute Science & Society Program.
The GOOD10 format explores fundamental issues facing humanity through the lenses of ten forces pushing the needle toward progress: Places, Philanthropists, Celebrities, Whistleblowers, Companies, Media, Products, Politicians, Scientists, and Actions. Across these categories, we seek to present unexpected and encouraging paradigms emerging from this historic crisis.
This special issue is available as an e-reader version for both desktop and mobile. It is also available as a free downloadable PDF.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- PLACES:
55 Lessons Learned About Science Communication Around the World; Quarantining Our Way Into Outer Space - PLACES:
Quarantining Our Way Into Outer Space - PHILANTHROPISTS:
An Exclusive Interview with Wendy Schmidt about Science in the Pandemic Era - CELEBRITIES:
Neil deGrasse Tyson Wants Celebrities to Promote Scientists - WHISTLEBLOWERS:
The Science Sleuths Holding Fraudulent Research Accountable - COMPANIES:
The Biggest Challenge for a COVID-19 Vaccine: Making It Accessible and Affordable - MEDIA:
Isaac Asimov on the History of Infectious Disease—And How Humanity Learned To Fight Back - PRODUCTS:
Will COVID-19 Pave the Way For DIY Precision Medicine? - POLITICIANS:
Will the Pandemic Propel STEM Experts to Political Power? - SCIENTISTS:
Would a Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Drug Stop the Pandemic? - ACTIONS:
Pseudoscience is Rampant: How Not to Fall For It - ACTIONS:
How COVID-19 Could Usher In a New Age of Collective Drug Discovery
THE EVENT:
"The Pandemic Science Summit" focused on how science innovation is key to society's future stability as we emerge from the pandemic, featuring:
Christopher Bailey – Arts and Health Lead, World Health Organization
Elisabeth Bik, Ph.D. – Microbiologist and scientific integrity consultant
Margaret Hamburg, M.D. – Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Medicine; former Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Peggy Oti-Boateng, Ph.D. – Director, Division of Science Policy and Capacity- Building, UNESCO
George Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D. – President and Chief Scientific Officer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals