An AI healthcare company claims its software can more accurately assess the extent of prostate cancer compared to traditional methods used by doctors.
Avenda Health conducted a study involving ten doctors, each evaluating 50 prostate cancer cases. The results showed that Avenda’s Unfold AI software identified cancer with an accuracy rate of 84.7%, significantly higher than the accuracy rates of physicians, which ranged from 67.2% to 75.9%.
The research, conducted in collaboration with UCLA Health and published in the Journal of Urology, indicated that AI-assisted cancer contouring predictions were 45 times more accurate and consistent than those made without AI support.
Shyam Natarajan, an assistant adjunct professor of urology, surgery, and bioengineering at UCLA and senior author of the study, stated that the integration of AI assistance helped doctors improve both their accuracy and consistency in diagnosing cancer.
Dr. Wayne Brisbane, an assistant professor of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, explained that while doctors often rely on MRIs to assess tumor size, some tumors are not visible through this imaging technique. He noted that AI provides valuable insights where MRIs may not be effective.
Brisbane emphasized that the application of AI in cancer treatment could enhance personalized care, enabling treatments that are more specifically tailored to individual patient needs and more effective in combating the disease. He noted that AI has the potential to surpass human capabilities in this context.
Dr. Shyam Natarajan, CEO of Avenda Health, expressed that it is encouraging for physicians to witness such advancements being validated through research and recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA).
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and 1 in 44 will succumb to the disease. This year, it’s projected that there will be 299,010 new cases of prostate cancer in the U.S., with 35,250 men expected to die from it.