Scientists Create Life-saving AI to Detect Breast Cancer

VIVA – Scientists have created an artificial intelligence (AI) that can predict whether a patient's breast cancer will spread. The technology can measure the immune response of lymph nodes, pea-sized clumps of tissue that help the body fight infection.

Tests on the lymph nodes of people with triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive disease that is one of the most likely to spread or return, found that it could predict whether it was likely to metastasize or spread.

Experts say the breakthrough could lead to more tailored treatment based on a woman's risk profile, stopping the disease before it spreads beyond cure.

Researchers from King's College London developed the AI model which they tested on more than 5,000 lymph nodes, donated by 345 patients.

Breast cancer cells usually first spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit, which are closest to the tumor. When this happens, patients are usually given more intensive treatment to try to stop it from developing elsewhere.

But scientists found that even when breast cancer cells have not spread to the lymph nodes, the body's immune response makes it possible to predict the likelihood of cancer spreading elsewhere.

Scientists used a computer program to carry out an analysis of images of lymph nodes in cancer patients, which were then cross-referenced with patient records and whether their breast cancer had spread.

Dr Anita Grigoriadis, who led the research at the Breast Cancer Now Unit at King's College London, said: "Using our AI technology, we looked at many images of lymph nodes and we found certain patterns," she said. 

"By showing that lymph node changes can predict whether triple-negative breast cancer will spread, we have built on our growing knowledge of the important role that the immune response can play in understanding patient prognosis," she added.

About 15 percent of breast cancer is triple negative and there are currently few targeted treatments.

It is more common in women who inherit the BRCA gene, which Angelina Jolie also has, as well as black women, pre-menopausal, and women under 40.

Publishing their findings in the Journal of Pathology, they hope to test the AI model in clinical trials.

Moreover, Dr Simon Vincent, research director at Breast Cancer Now, said: "Every year around 8,000 UK women are diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, which is a more aggressive form of breast cancer, often with worse outcomes,"

"If, thanks to this research, it is possible to provide women with more tailored care and services based on the likelihood of breast cancer spreading, it could help save lives and reduce stress and worry,"

"We look forward to further findings to understand how this can work in practice to benefit women affected by this type of breast cancer." he concluded.