A pioneering NHS program has shown that artificial intelligence can greatly increase the chances of catching early warning signs of esophageal cancer.
Computer technology works by analyzing images taken during a procedure called endoscopy, in which a small camera at the end of a flexible tube is inserted into the throat, like an “extra pair of eyes,” to help doctors identify precancerous cells in the throat. esophagus.
Currently, one in five cases is ignored by doctors during regular endoscopy, sometimes with serious consequences. But the results of new research from artificial intelligence software show that 92% of patients can accurately detect precancerous symptoms during endoscopies.
Currently, one in five cases is ignored by doctors during regular endoscopy, sometimes with serious consequences. But new research results from artificial intelligence software show that 92 percent of patients can accurately detect precancerous symptoms during endoscopies.
About 9,000 Britons are diagnosed with esophageal cancer each year. Patients with the most common type, adenocarcinoma, live on average only one year after diagnosis, making it one of the deadliest forms of the disease.
Professor Rehan Haidry, endoscopist consultant to University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, who presented the procedure, said: “If we get esophageal cancer early, we can treat it with minimally invasive surgery and patients do not need surgery or chemotherapy. and radiotherapy. ‘
About 9,000 Britons are diagnosed with esophageal cancer each year. Patients with the most common type, adenocarcinoma, live on average only one year after diagnosis, making it one of the deadliest forms of the disease.
Common symptoms include loss of appetite, difficulty swallowing, and acid regurgitation. In about 13% of patients, a condition called Barrett’s esophagus, in which the cells lining the esophagus change and mutate, precedes the disease. Acid reflux is considered the main cause because stomach acid rising into the esophagus damages these cells. Barrett’s disease develops in one in ten patients with acid reflux.
In about one in 100 cases per year, the cell changes can become precancerous – a condition called dysplasia – and then develop into full-blown cancer.
Precancerous cells can be surgically removed during the same endoscopy procedure, using a fine thread passed through the throat to scrape off the mutated cells. Studies show that the procedure is highly effective: Ten years later, 95% of patients are still cancer-free.
In the case of complete esophageal cancer, treatment involves removing part of the esophagus. During surgery, incisions are made in the patient’s neck, stomach, or abdomen to remove part or all of the esophagus and replace it with part of the stomach or intestines. But in more than half of these patients, the cancer returns within two to three years.
Advanced disease is treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. If other treatments stop working, immunotherapy may follow.
At this point, however, the cancer is usually incurable, and only 15% of patients survive for five years or more.
The artificial intelligence software called CADU increases the chances of early detection of esophageal cancer by drawing attention to the points of concern in the patient’s throat that are not visible to the naked eye. As the doctor inserts a camera into the patient’s throat, the software analyzes the images the doctor sees in real time and generates on-screen alerts to guide the surgeon to potentially abnormal cells.
The technology has been approved by British health authorities and was used at UCH in London last year. Experts think it will be revised for wider use in NHS hospitals next year.
Professor Haidry says: “A man in his 60s recently came in with Barrett’s esophageal symptoms. When I looked at the screen during the endoscopy, I saw no pre-cancerous symptoms. But the AI system immediately took it and marked the area.
“After scraping the cells and sending them to the lab, the results came within a week and the computer was right. The cells were precancerous.
The patient is now, hopefully, no longer at risk of developing cancer, and Professor Haidry said, ‘Compare this with actual treatment for esophageal cancer: Patients have to undergo major surgery to remove part of their esophagus.
“You have to spend weeks in the hospital, and recovery can take up to six months.
“With the AI procedure, the risk is minimal and patients can go home the next day.”
Source: Daily Mail
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