Artificial intelligence could yield more accurate breast cancer diagnoses

UCLA researchers have developed an artificial intelligence system that could help pathologists read biopsies more accurately and to better detect and diagnose breast cancer.The new system,described in a study published today in JAMA Network Open, helps interpret medical images used to diagnose breast cancer that can be difficult for the human eye to classify, and it does so nearly as accurately or better as experienced pathologists.“It is critical to get a correct diagnosis from the beginning so that we can guide patients to the most effective treatments,” said Dr. Joann Elmore, the study’s senior author and a professor of medicine at theDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.A 2015 study led by Elmore found that pathologists often disagree on the interpretation of breast biopsies, which are performed on millions of women each year. That earlier research revealed that diagnostic errors occurred in about one out of every six women who had ductal carcinoma in situ (a noninvasive type of breast cancer), and that incorrect diagnoses were given in about half of the biopsy cases of breast atypia (abnormal cells that are associated with a higher risk for breast cancer).“Medical images of breast biopsies contain a great deal of complex data and interpreting them can be very subjective,” said Elmore, who is also a researcher at theUCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Distinguishing breast atypia from ductal carcinoma in situ is important clinically but very challeng...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news