AI-Enhanced Mammography Shows Promise in Boosting Breast Cancer Detection Rates

Study claims AI could boost detection of breast cancer by 21% | TechCrunch

A U.S. breast-screening program claims to demonstrate the potential benefits of using artificial intelligence (AI) in mammography screening, with women who paid for AI-enhanced scans 21% more likely to have cancer detected. DeepHealth, an AI firm owned by radiology giant RadNet, presented its findings at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), detailing 747,604 women who underwent mammography screening over a 12-month period. Overall cancer detection rates were 43% higher for those enrolled in the program compared to those who weren't. However, some of the women also opted to have "U.S. Food and Drug Administration-compliant AI software" applied to their mammograms (at their own expense), serving as a "second set of eyes" to help radiologists spot anomalies in mammography screenings. The findings suggest that 22% of the overall cancer detection increase was due to the fact that higher-risk patients were more likely to enroll in the program to begin with (implying selection bias), but its analysis concluded that the remaining 21% was due to the use of AI in driving recall rates for additional imaging. This is far from conclusive, though, and the researchers are now seeking to "better quantify" the benefits of AI in this context through randomized controlled trials.

AI-enhanced mammography improves cancer detection in self-pay program

Radiological Society of North AmericaDec 6 2024 More than a third of women across 10 health care practices chose to enroll in a self-pay, artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced breast cancer screening program, and the women who enrolled were 21% more likely to have cancer detected, according to research being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). AI has shown great promise in mammography as a "second set of eyes" for radiologists providing decision support, risk prediction and other benefits. Despite its promise, AI is not yet reimbursed by insurance, which likely is slowing its adoption in the clinic. Some practices have elected to offer enhanced workflows enabled by AI at additional cost, much like what was done when digital breast tomosynthesis was originally deployed. For the study, researchers investigated the impact of AI-;including a safeguard review-;as a self-pay option in screening mammography. A self-pay, AI-powered screening mammography program was offered to patients across 10 clinical practices, ranging from a few sites up to 64 sites at the largest practice. Women who enrolled had U.S. Food and Drug Administration-compliant AI software applied to their mammograms. An expert breast radiologist provided a third, safeguard review in cases where there was discordance between the first reviewer and the AI. Out of the 747,604 women who underwent screening mammography over an initial 12-month period, the overall cancer detection rate was on average 43% higher for enrolled women than for unenrolled women. The pattern of a substantially higher cancer detection rate in enrolled women was observed at all 10 practices. Further analysis attributed 21% of the increase in cancer detection to the AI program. The researchers credited the remaining 22% increase in detection to the fact that higher-risk patients chose to enroll more frequently. "These data indicate that many women are eager to utilize AI to enhance their screening mammogram, and when AI is coupled with a safeguard review, more cancers are found," said study senior author Gregory Sorensen, M.D., from DeepHealth Inc. in Somerville, Massachusetts. The recall rate-;the rate at which women were called back for additional imaging-;was 21% higher for enrolled versus unenrolled women. Relatedly, the positive predictive value for cancer was 15% higher for the enrolled women, indicating that each recall resulted in more cancer diagnoses in the enrolled population. This is the first report on results from a program that provides an AI-powered enhanced review that patients can elect to enroll in. he AI-driven enhanced review program leverages AI in a novel workflow to ensure women with suspicious findings get expert level care that could help detect many more breast cancers early. The number of women electing for this program is now at 36% and growing, and the rate of cancer detection continues to be substantially higher for those women." Bryan Haslam, Ph.D., study lead author from DeepHealth In the future, the researchers hope to better quantify the benefit of the AI-driven safeguard review with prospective randomized controlled trials that would eliminate the self-selection bias and provide the highest level of evidence. Co-authors are Leeann Louis, Ph.D., Jacqueline S. Holt, M.D., and Janet M. Storella, M.D. Radiological Society of North America

AI Is Detecting More Breast Cancer Cases, Study Suggests

In a study, women who chose AI-powered mammograms were 21% more likely to have cancer detected than those who didn’t. Would you pay extra to enhance your medical screening with artificial intelligence? In a recent study, more than 30% of women opted for AI-enhanced mammogramsâ€"and the results are in. Researchers at this year’s annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) have revealed that cancer was 21% more likely to be detected for women who paid extra for an AI-enhanced breast cancer screening program. Their findings, presented at the annual meeting and detailed in an RSNA statement, affirm AI’s potential to be a “second set of eyes†for radiologists. "This is the first report on results from a program that provides an AI-powered enhanced review that patients can elect to enroll in," Bryan Haslam, chief product officer at DeepHealth who led the study, said in the statement. The study considered 10 clinical practices offering patients a self-pay, FDA-compliant AI-powered screening mammography program. The X-rays of women who opted into the program were reviewed by a breast radiologist and then by the AI software. If the reviews were inconsistent with each other, a second radiologist would provide a third review. "The AI-driven enhanced review program leverages AI in a novel workflow to ensure women with suspicious findings get expert level care that could help detect many more breast cancers early,†Haslam added. “The number of women electing for this program is now at 36% and growing, and the rate of cancer detection continues to be substantially higher for those women." In fact, of the 747,604 women who had mammograms over a year, the cancer detection rate was about 43% higher for those enrolled in the program compared to those who weren’t. The researchers noted a higher rate at all 10 practices in the study. While they attribute 22% of that increase to the fact that women with a higher risk of getting cancer were more likely to enroll in the program, the remaining 21% of the detection increase came from the AI. Accordingly, enrolled women were called back for additional screening at a 21% higher rate than unenrolled women, and their positive predictive value for cancer (the chances that positive results for cancer really indicates cancer) was also 15% higher, “indicating that each recall resulted in more cancer diagnoses in the enrolled population,†the researchers wrote. In other words, the recalls triggered with AI help were more accurate. "These data indicate that many women are eager to utilize AI to enhance their screening mammogram, and when AI is coupled with a safeguard review, more cancers are found," said Gregory Sorensen, also from DeepHealth and senior writer on the study. Next, the scientists hope to further their research and eliminate the biases that result from self-selection through randomized controlled trials. These results highlight the potential of AI-enhanced radiology. While some clinics offer the enhancement at an additional cost, the fact that insurances are currently unwilling to cover said cost might be slowing its integration, according to the researchers. It remains to be seen whether further research will usher in a more widespread and potentially revolutionary use of AI in the diagnostic field, and whether insurance companies will get with the program.

Women pay for AI to boost mammogram findings

More than a third of women across 10 health care practices chose to enroll in a self-pay, artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced breast cancer screening program, and the women who enrolled were 21% more likely to have cancer detected, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). AI has shown great promise in mammography as a "second set of eyes" for radiologists providing decision support, risk prediction and other benefits. Despite its promise, AI is not yet reimbursed by insurance, which is likely slowing its adoption in the clinic. Some practices have elected to offer enhanced workflows enabled by AI at additional cost, much like what was done when digital breast tomosynthesis was originally deployed. For the study, researchers investigated the impact of AI -- including a safeguard review -- as a self-pay option in screening mammography. A self-pay, AI-powered screening mammography program was offered to patients across 10 clinical practices, ranging from a few sites up to 64 sites at the largest practice. Women who enrolled had U.S. Food and Drug Administration-compliant AI software applied to their mammograms. An expert breast radiologist provided a third, safeguard review in cases where there was discordance between the first reviewer and the AI. Out of the 747,604 women who underwent screening mammography over an initial 12-month period, the overall cancer detection rate was on average 43% higher for enrolled women than for unenrolled women. The pattern of a substantially higher cancer detection rate in enrolled women was observed at all 10 practices. Further analysis attributed 21% of the increase in cancer detection to the AI program. The researchers credited the remaining 22% increase in detection to the fact that higher-risk patients chose to enroll more frequently. "These data indicate that many women are eager to utilize AI to enhance their screening mammogram, and when AI is coupled with a safeguard review, more cancers are found," said study senior author Gregory Sorensen, M.D., from DeepHealth Inc. in Somerville, Massachusetts. The recall rate -- the rate at which women were called back for additional imaging -- was 21% higher for enrolled versus unenrolled women. Relatedly, the positive predictive value for cancer was 15% higher for the enrolled women, indicating that each recall resulted in more cancer diagnoses in the enrolled population. "This is the first report on results from a program that provides an AI-powered enhanced review that patients can elect to enroll in," said study lead author Bryan Haslam, Ph.D., from DeepHealth. "The AI-driven enhanced review program leverages AI in a novel workflow to ensure women with suspicious findings get expert level care that could help detect many more breast cancers early. The number of women electing for this program is now at 36% and growing, and the rate of cancer detection continues to be substantially higher for those women." In the future, the researchers hope to better quantify the benefit of the AI-driven safeguard review with prospective randomized controlled trials that would eliminate the self-selection bias and provide the highest level of evidence.