Use of AI Plus One Radiologist Noninferior for Detecting Breast Cancer

MONDAY, Sept. 18, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Double reading of screening mammograms by one radiologist plus artificial intelligence (AI) is noninferior to standard-of-care double reading by two radiologists, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in The Lancet Digital Health.

Karin Dembrower, M.D., from Capio Sankt Göran Hospital in Stockholm, and colleagues examined how AI affects cancer detection and false-positive findings in a real-world setting involving women participating in population-based screening. The primary outcome was screen-detected cancer within three months of mammography. Noninferiority of double reading by one radiologist plus AI was compared to standard-of-care double reading by two radiologists in the primary analysis.

A total of 55,581 women aged 40 to 74 years were included in the study from April 1, 2021, to June 9, 2022. The researchers found that based on an initial positive read, 269 women (0.5 percent) were diagnosed with screen-detected breast cancer. For cancer detection, double reading by one radiologist plus AI was noninferior to double reading by two radiologists (261 versus 250; 0.5 versus 0.4 percent detected cases). Compared with double reading by two radiologists, single reading by AI (246 versus 250; 0.4 versus 0.4 percent detected cases) and triple reading by two radiologists plus AI (269 versus 250; 0.5 versus 0.4 percent detected cases) were also noninferior.

"It's clear to us that for screening mammography, one AI-supported radiologist is a better alternative than two radiologists without AI," coauthor Fredrik Strand, M.D., from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, said in a statement.

One author disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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