An artificial intelligence healthcare company claims that its software can detect the extent of prostate cancer more accurately than medical professionals.
Avenda Health conducted a study in collaboration with UCLA Health, involving ten doctors who evaluated 50 prostate cancer cases. The company’s Unfold AI software achieved an accuracy rate of 84.7% in cancer detection, whereas the physicians’ manual assessments varied between 67.2% and 75.9%.
The research, published in the Journal of Urology, found that AI-assisted cancer contouring led to predictions of tumor size that were 45 times more accurate and consistent compared to traditional methods.
Shyam Natarajan, an assistant adjunct professor of urology, surgery, and bioengineering at UCLA and the study’s senior author, noted that the inclusion of AI assistance improved both accuracy and consistency among doctors, leading to greater agreement in evaluations.
Doctors typically rely on MRIs to determine tumor size; however, some tumors are not visible through MRI scans. Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, highlighted that AI fills the gaps where MRIs may fall short.
Brisbane stated that incorporating AI in cancer care could result in more effective and personalized treatments tailored to patients’ unique needs, enhancing the chances of combating the disease. He emphasized that AI has the potential to exceed human capabilities.
Avenda Health CEO Dr. Shyam Natarajan expressed that it is encouraging for physicians to witness such innovations validated through research and recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA).
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 succumbing to the disease. This year alone, it is projected that there will be 299,010 new cases of prostate cancer in the U.S., resulting in 35,250 deaths.