International Experts Release Guidelines for AI Use in Neuro-Oncology

International Team Releases AI Guidelines for Neuro-Oncology

An international, multidisciplinary team of leading neuro-oncology researchers and clinicians has published new recommendations for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in diagnosing, monitoring, and treating brain cancer patients. The guidelines, released in two companion policy reviews in The Lancet Oncology, aim to ensure reliable clinical trial results and patient protection 1

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Need for Standardization in AI Use

The new recommendations address the current variability in AI application across different institutions. Dr. Spyridon Bakas, lead author of the second policy review and Joshua Edwards Associate Professor at Indiana University School of Medicine, emphasized the need for more objective tumor assessment 2

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"We can use AI to look at images of the tumors more objectively," Bakas stated. "AI programs can help determine quickly what type of disease it is, what subtype of tumor and what particular grade it is, in addition to helping track the progress of a lesion during treatment."

Key Guidelines for AI Implementation

The team's recommendations include:

1. Using software developed with large and diverse patient data cohorts
2. Ensuring AI models for tumor definition follow World Health Organization criteria
3. Considering how tumor images are obtained, processed, and segmented before analysis 3

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Importance of Standardization

Dr. Raymond Y. Huang, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, highlighted the importance of standardization: "Thanks to new technology, there are ways to use AI to help assess whether a tumor is progressing or is stable. However, there needs to be a standardized way to use AI to accurately diagnose and treat patients" 4

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International Impact and Future Research

Thomas Booth, a co-author from King's College London, emphasized the global significance of these guidelines: "These guidelines are critical for ensuring that AI tools developed in the U.K. and beyond meet rigorous standards and improve patient outcomes. With these recommendations, we can move towards more accurate, standardized AI applications that benefit both clinicians and patients across the U.K. and internationally."

Dr. Bakas stressed the need for continued research: "It is important that we continue our study of these AI models on large, diverse patient populations to continue extending our understanding of disease and improving the way we use them."

Collaborative Effort and Funding

The guidelines were developed by reviewing existing research and current AI advancements in neuro-oncology. The recommendations have been presented at major oncology conferences and will be further discussed at the Society for Neuro-Oncology meeting in Houston, Texas.

This research involved collaboration from numerous institutions worldwide and received support from various organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense, and European Union's European Research Council 1

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