A healthcare technology company specializing in artificial intelligence has claimed that its software can identify the extent of prostate cancer with greater accuracy than medical professionals.
Avenda Health conducted a study involving ten doctors who analyzed 50 separate prostate cancer cases. The results showed that Avenda’s Unfold AI software achieved a cancer detection accuracy rate of 84.7%, whereas the accuracy of physicians ranged from 67.2% to 75.9%.
The research, conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, also indicated that AI-assisted cancer contouring produced predictions regarding tumor size that were 45 times more accurate and consistent compared to traditional methods.
According to Shyam Natarajan, the assistant adjunct professor of urology, surgery, and bioengineering at UCLA and the study’s senior author, the integration of AI in assessments made doctors more precise and consistent, leading to better agreement among them when utilizing AI assistance.
While physicians typically rely on MRI scans to evaluate tumor size, certain tumors remain “MRI-invisible,” as noted by Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. AI technology fills this gap where MRIs may fall short.
Dr. Brisbane emphasized the potential of AI to enhance cancer treatment, offering more effective and personalized care that aligns closely with the individual needs of patients, ultimately improving treatment outcomes. He asserted that AI has the capability to surpass human limitations.
Dr. Shyam Natarajan, CEO of Avenda Health, expressed that it is encouraging for doctors to witness such innovations 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, with 1 in 44 facing death from the disease. The organization estimates that there will be 299,010 new prostate cancer cases reported in the U.S. this year, leading to 35,250 deaths from the illness.