Artificial intelligence can detect early signs of pancreatic cancer

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by Cedars-Sinai researchers accurately predicts who will develop pancreatic cancer based on CT scan images of patients years before they are diagnosed

"This AI tool is able to capture and quantify very subtle early signs in CT scans years before pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is not only the most common type of pancreatic cancer, it is also the deadliest

People with this type of cancer may experience symptoms such as abdominal pain or unexplained weight loss, but these symptoms are often overlooked or overlooked as signs of cancer because they are common in many health conditions

"There are no unique symptoms that provide an early diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma," said Stephen J.

The researchers looked at electronic medical records to identify people who had been diagnosed with cancer within the past 15 years and who had CT scans 6 months to 3 years before their diagnosis

The AI ​​tool was trained to analyze these pre-diagnostic CT images of pancreatic cancer patients and compare them to CT images of 36 patients without the cancer

The artificial intelligence model collected changes in the surface of the pancreas between cancer patients and healthy controls

"We hope that this tool will detect cancer as early as possible so that more people can have their tumors completely removed with surgery," said Dr.

The researchers are now collecting data from thousands of patients at medical sites across the United States to continue studying the predictive power of the AI ​​tool

Courtesy of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center