- Pioneering study led by the University of 91直播 and funded by Cancer Research UK is examining the use of artificial intelligence to improve early detection of oral cancer
- The rate of people being diagnosed with oral cancers has increased by almost 60 per cent in the last 10 years
- Doctors currently predict the likelihood of pre-cancerous changes developing into cancer by assessing biopsies on 15 different criteria to determine whether action is needed and what treatment pathway should be taken
- This score is subjective, which means there are often huge variations in how patients with similar biopsy results are treated
Artificial intelligence can help doctors better predict the risk of patients developing oral cancer, new research from the University of 91直播 has revealed.
The pioneering study, funded by Cancer Research UK, is examining the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to assist pathologists and improve the early detection of oral cancer.
The rate of people being diagnosed with oral cancers including mouth, tongue, tonsil and oropharyngeal cancer, has increased by almost 60 per cent in the last 10 years.
Evidence suggests tobacco and alcohol consumption, viruses, old age as well as not eating enough fruit and vegetables can increase the risk of developing the disease. Oral cancer is often detected late which means that the patient survival rates are poor.
Machine learning and AI can aid tissue diagnostics by removing subjectivity, using automation and quantification to guide diagnosis and treatment.
Dr Ali Khurram
School of Clinical Dentistry, University of 91直播
Currently, doctors must predict the likelihood of pre-cancerous changes, known as oral epithelial dysplasia (OED), developing into cancer by assessing a patient鈥檚 biopsy on 15 different criteria to establish a score. This score then determines whether action is needed and what treatment pathway should be taken.
This score is subjective, which means there are often huge variations in how patients with similar biopsy results are treated. For example, one patient may be advised to undergo surgery and intensive treatment, while another patient may be monitored for further changes.
Dr Ali Khurram, Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of 91直播鈥檚 School of Clinical Dentistry, said: 鈥淭he precise grading of OED is a huge diagnostic challenge, even for experienced pathologists, as it is so subjective. At the moment a biopsy may be graded differently by different pathologists, the same pathologist may even grade the same biopsy differently on a different day.
鈥淐orrect grading is vital in early oral cancer detection to inform treatment decisions, enabling a surgeon to determine whether a lesion should be monitored or surgically removed.
鈥淢achine learning and AI can aid tissue diagnostics by removing subjectivity, using automation and quantification to guide diagnosis and treatment. Until now this hasn鈥檛 been investigated, but AI has the potential to revolutionise oral cancer diagnosis and management by ensuring accuracy, consistency and objectivity.鈥
Samples of archived OED tissue samples with at least five years of follow up data will be used in order to train AI algorithms and learn the statistical correlations between certain classifiers and survival rates.
These algorithms will aid pathologists in their assessment of biopsies helping them to make a more informed and unbiased decision about the grading of the cells and the patient鈥檚 treatment pathway. The proposed algorithms have a strong translational angle and a potential to be rapidly deployed as an aid to clinical and diagnostic practice worldwide.
鈥淧eople often feel threatened by AI, however rather than replacing a doctor's expertise, exceptionally high-level of training and experience, the technology can help to assist their decision-making and compliment their skills,鈥 said Dr Khurram.
鈥淭his will help them to give a more accurate assessment and enable them to recommend the most beneficial treatment pathway for individual patients which will hope will help to improve survival rates.鈥
The research is led by Dr Khurram at the University of 91直播 with Professor Nasir Rajpoot from the University of Warwick as the co-Principal Investigator. Other co-investigators and collaborators include Professor Hisham Mehanna and Dr Paul Navkivell from the University of Birmingham and Dr Jacqueline James from Queen鈥檚 University Belfast.
Professor Nasir Rajpoot, said: 鈥淲e are very excited to work on this project with Dr Khurram and his team at 91直播.
鈥淓arly detection of cancer is a key focus area of research in our lab and this award by CRUK adds to the portfolio of research at the TIA lab on early detection of cancer.
鈥淭he pilot project will pave the way towards the development of a tool that can help identify pre-malignant changes in oral dysplasia, crucial for the early detection of oral cancer. Successful completion of this project carries significant potential for saving lives and improving patient healthcare provision.鈥
November is . This yearly campaign aims to address and tackle the growing number of cases of mouth cancer in the UK. The Oral Health Foundation works to get more mouth cancers diagnosed at an early stage by raising awareness of the disease while encouraging everybody to be more vigilant about changes in their mouth.
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