AI in detection of breast cancer lymph-node metastases

Artificial intelligence could help clinicians detect breast cancer lymph-node metastases more accurately.

In a study published in The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, researchers used more than 32,000 whole-slide images matched with the pathology reports from more than 8,000 patients to train an AI algorithm.

The researchers then asked three pathologists to review a data set of 167 breast sentinel lymph node whole-slide images — which included either breast cancer metastases or were benign — with and without assistance from the AI algorithm.

The algorithm was found to both reduce the time in which the pathologists examined the images, demonstrating a 55% increase in efficiency, and improve the detection of breast cancer metastases in the tissue samples.

The findings indicated that the use of an AI algorithm to aid in tissue examination could expedite the diagnostic process and improve diagnostic accuracy, thereby avoiding inappropriate treatment plans.

Read more: The American Journal of Surgical Pathology

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