AI 'can detect breast cancer at similar rate to doctors', study suggests

ITV News' Martha Fairlie reports from Cambridge on the AI advancements that soon be implemented by the NHS

Artificial intelligence can detect breast cancer at a "similar rate" to two doctors, a study has suggested.

The researchers found the AI could spot cancer in mammograms – X-ray pictures of the breast – at a comparable rate to two radiologists.

The NHS is already examining how it can implement this type of technology in its breast screening programme.

The authors of the latest study said the results are "not enough on their own to confirm that AI is ready to be implemented in mammography screening."

Previous studies examining whether AI can accurately diagnose breast cancer in mammograms have been carried out retrospectively – where the technology assesses scans which have already been looked at by doctors.

But the new interim study saw AI-supported screening put head-to-head with standard care.

The randomised control trial, published in the journal Lancet Oncology, involved more than 80,000 women from Sweden with an average age of 54.

Half of the scans were assessed by two radiologists, known as standard care, while the other half were assessed by the AI-supported screening tool followed by interpretation by one or two radiologists.

In total, 244 women from AI-supported screening were found to have cancer compared with 203 women recalled from standard screening.

The use of AI also did not generate more "false positives" – where a scan is incorrectly diagnosed as abnormal.

The false-positive rate was 1.5% in both the AI group and the group assessed by radiologists.

Researchers said the use of AI could potentially almost halve the screening workload.

There were 36,886 fewer screen readings by radiologists in the AI-supported group compared with the group who received standard care, resulting in a 44% reduction in the screen-reading workload of radiologists, the authors said.

The study was only the first in a wider body of research that is not expected to be finished for a few years.

Lead author Dr Kristina Lang, from Lund University in Sweden, said: "These promising interim safety results should be used to inform new trials and programme-based evaluations to address the pronounced radiologist shortage in many countries, but they are not enough on their own to confirm that AI is ready to be implemented in mammography screening."

She added: "The greatest potential of AI right now is that it could allow radiologists to be less burdened by the excessive amount of reading.

"While our AI-supported screening system requires at least one radiologist in charge of detection, it could potentially do away with the need for double reading of the majority of mammograms, easing the pressure on workloads and enabling radiologists to focus on more advanced diagnostics while shortening waiting times for patients."

Commenting on the study, an NHS spokesman said: "The NHS is already exploring how AI could help in breast screening by enabling complicated image analysis very quickly and at scale, which, if proven effective, could in future help speed up diagnosis for many women, detect cancers at an earlier stage, and ultimately save more lives."

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