A healthcare technology firm has announced that its artificial intelligence software can detect the extent of prostate cancer more accurately than physicians.
Avenda Health conducted a study last month involving ten medical professionals who evaluated 50 separate prostate cancer cases. The results showed that Avenda’s Unfold AI software had an accuracy rate of 84.7% in detecting cancer, while the doctors’ manual assessments ranged from 67.2% to 75.9%.
The research, carried out in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, also revealed that AI-assisted cancer contouring predictions were 45 times more reliable and consistent compared to those made without AI.
Shyam Natarajan, an assistant adjunct professor of urology at UCLA and the study’s senior author, stated that AI support enhanced both the accuracy and consistency of the doctors’ assessments, leading to greater agreement among them when using AI tools.
Typically, doctors rely on MRI scans to determine tumor size; however, some tumors are not visible on these scans. Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, noted that AI can be particularly beneficial in cases where MRIs fall short.
Brisbane emphasized that integrating AI into cancer treatment could provide more effective and personalized care, allowing treatments to be better attuned to the specific needs of patients and improving success rates in combating the disease. He remarked that AI has the potential to surpass human capabilities.
Avenda Health’s CEO, Dr. Shyam Natarajan, expressed that it is encouraging for healthcare providers to see 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 during their lives, and 1 in 44 will succumb to the disease. It is estimated that there will be 299,010 new prostate cancer cases in the U.S. this year, with 35,250 expected fatalities.