Chinese scientists have recently developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool aimed at the early detection of pancreatic cancer, often referred to as the “king of cancers” due to its high mortality rate.
One of the main reasons pancreatic cancer has such a high fatality rate is that it is extremely difficult to detect early, typically showing no symptoms until it has metastasized to other organs, according to the Mayo Clinic (USA).
Recently, an early diagnosis model developed by AI scientists at Alibaba’s DAMO Academy and researchers from over 10 hospitals in China, including the Shanghai Pancreatic Disease Institute, has shown promising results.
Treating pancreatic cancer patients at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Florida, USA. (Photo: HERALD-TRIBUNE)
This model combines a non-contrast computed tomography method with an AI algorithm named PANDA. According to a study published in Nature Medicine on November 27, the research team stated that PANDA was trained on over 3,200 sets of images related to pancreatic cancer.
In practical tests, the AI model’s ability to detect pancreatic tumors reached 92.9%, compared to just 34.1% for X-rays. Dr. Li Ruijiang, an expert at Stanford Medical School (USA), described the research as a “significant step in the right direction for diagnosing pancreatic cancer.”
According to the South China Morning Post, a study conducted in April this year by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the USA indicated that the mortality rate for pancreatic cancer increased by 0.2% each year from 2006 to 2019. Research shows that early detection can help patients live an additional 9.8 years, while late diagnosis reduces this time to only 1.5 years.
“The accuracy of the PANDA algorithm significantly surpasses current diagnostic methods” – noted German medical expert Joerg Kleeff and his colleagues. However, they caution that further research is necessary before this AI diagnostic method can be widely implemented.
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