Source: Thailand Medical News Jan 09, 2020 4 years, 10 months, 1 week, 5 days, 2 hours, 9 minutes ago
Medical and tech researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Tampere University in Finland have developed a method based on
artificial intelligence (
AI) for histopathological
diagnosis and
grading of
prostate cancer. The
AI-system has the potential to solve one of the bottlenecks in today's
prostate cancer histopathology by providing more accurate
diagnosis and better treatment decisions.
From left: Peter Ström, Martin Eklund, Kimmo Kartasalo, Henrik Olsson och Lars Egevad, researchers
at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Credit: Stefan Zimmerman
The new study, presented in the scientific journal
The Lancet Oncology, shows that the AI-system is as good at identifying and
grading prostate cancer as world-leading uro-
pathologists.
Dr Martin Eklund, Associate Professor at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Karolinska Institutet who led the study told
Thailand Medical News, "Our results show that it is possible to train an
AI-system to detect and
grade prostate cancer on the same level as leading experts," "This has the potential to significantly reduce the workload of uro-
pathologists and allow them to focus on the most difficult cases."
A current problem in
prostate pathology is that there is a certain degree of subjectivity in the assessments of the biopsies. Different
pathologists can reach different conclusions even though they are studying the same samples. This leads to a clinical problem where the doctors must pick treatment based on ambiguous information. In this context, the researchers see significant potential to use the
AI-technology to increase the reproducibility of the
pathological assessments.
To assess and train the
AI system, the researchers digitized more than 8,000 biopsies taken from some 1,200 Swedish men in the ages of 50-69 to high-resolution images using digital
pathology scanners. About 6,600 of the samples were used to train the AI system to spot the difference between biopsies with or without
cancer. The remaining samples, and additional sets of samples collected from other labs, were used to test the
AI system. Its results were also compared against the assessments of 23 world-leading uro-
pathologists.
The study findings showed that the
AI-system was near-perfect in determining whether a sample contained
cancer or not, as well as in estimating the length of the
cancer tumor in the biopsy. When it comes to determining the severity of the
prostate cancer, the so-called Gle
ason score, the
AI system was on par with the international experts.
Dr Lars Egevad, Professor in Pathology at Karolinska Institutet and co-author of the study commented to Thailand
Medical News, "When it comes to
grading the severity of the
prostate cancer, the
AI is in the same range as international experts, which is very impressive, and when it comes to
diagnostics to determine whether or not it is
cancer, the
AI is simply outstanding."
The study’s initial findings are promising but more validation is needed before the
AI system may be rolled out broadly in clinical practice, according to the researchers. That is why a multicenter study spanning nine European countries is currently underway with completion slated by the end of 2020. That study aims to train the
AI-system to recognize
cancer in biopsies taken from different laboratories, with different types of digital scanners and with very rare growth patterns. In addition, a randomized study starting in 2020 will examine how the
AI-model may be implemented in Sweden's
healthcare system.
Dr Henrik Grönberg, Professor in
Cancer Epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet and head of the
Prostate Cancer Center at St Göran Hospital in Stockholm added, "
AI-based evaluation of
prostate cancer biopsies could revolutionize future
healthcare. It has the potential to improve the
diagnostic quality, and thereby secure more equitable care at a lower cost."
Dr Martin Eklund noted, "The idea is not that
AI should replace human involvement, but rather act as a safety net to ensure that
pathologists don't miss some
cancers, and assist in standardization of
grading. It could also serve as an alternative in parts of the world where there is a complete lack of
pathological expertise today.”
Reference : Artificial intelligence for diagnosis and grading of prostate cancer in biopsies: a population-based, diagnostic study ,Peter Ström, MSc, Kimmo Kartasalo, MSc, Henrik Olsson, MSc, Leslie Solorzano, MSc, Prof Brett Delahunt, MD, Prof Daniel M Berney, MD, et al, The Lancet Oncology (2020). DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(19)30738-7
