AI Breakthrough: Can Software Outperform Doctors in Prostate Cancer Assessments?

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An AI healthcare company claims its software can more accurately assess the extent of prostate cancer than medical professionals.

Avenda Health conducted a study involving ten doctors who evaluated 50 prostate cancer cases each. The company’s Unfold AI software achieved an accuracy rate of 84.7%, while the physicians’ manual assessments ranged from 67.2% to 75.9%.

The research, conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, also demonstrated that AI-assisted cancer contouring significantly improved the precision of cancer size predictions, making them 45 times more accurate and reliable compared to traditional methods.

Shyam Natarajan, an assistant adjunct professor of urology, surgery, and bioengineering at UCLA and the senior author of the study, noted that the use of AI not only enhanced doctors’ accuracy but also increased their consistency in assessments.

Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at UCLA, emphasized that while MRIs are commonly used to determine tumor size, some tumors remain “MRI-invisible.” He stated that AI serves as a valuable tool in situations where MRI fails.

Brisbane further explained that incorporating AI into cancer treatment could result in more effective and personalized patient care, enabling treatments to be tailored to individual needs and enhancing the chances of successful outcomes. He remarked that AI has the potential to exceed human capabilities.

Avenda Health’s CEO, Dr. Shyam Natarajan, expressed that it is empowering for physicians to witness such innovation being validated through research and acknowledged by the American Medical Association.

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1 in 8 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and 1 in 44 will succumb to the disease. This year, an estimated 299,010 new prostate cancer cases are expected in the U.S., with 35,250 fatalities anticipated.

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