AI cancer diagnosis

A team of researchers at the

has designed a computer program that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse the features of ultrasound images to help doctors predict earlier whether or not a woman's cancer has metastasized.

Knowing whether or not a woman's cancer has metastasized directly affects how her doctors will approach treatment, which may, in turn, influence the outcome of that treatment.

Determining whether a tumour has metastasized is not always straightforward, however. Radiologists often start by using diagnostic ultrasound to non-invasively probe the nearby lymph nodes - tissues where cancer cells first migrate once they metastasize. However, in the early stages of cancer, lymph nodes often appear completely normal, even if the cancer has metastasized.

To judge the new system’s effectiveness, the team retrospectively analysed the diagnostic ultrasounds of 50 women with suspected breast cancer who all had lymph nodes that appeared normal in the ultrasound, suggesting that their cancers had not metastasized.