Health UK (Commonwealth Union) – Kheiron Medical Technologies and Imperial College London have unveiled a groundbreaking AI tool, Mia, capable of identifying up to 13% more instances of breast cancer than human counterparts during screenings. As per findings published in Nature Medicine, Mia exhibited the potential to markedly enhance early breast cancer detection in a European healthcare context.
In 2020, a staggering 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer globally, leading to 685,000 fatalities, as reported by the World Health Organization. Despite screening initiatives aimed at early cancer detection, an estimated 20% of breast cancers may go unnoticed during this critical stage.
Researchers observed that Mia, a certified CE Mark class IIa AI tool, has the capacity to refine breast cancer screening by identifying potentially cancerous tissue that human readers might overlook. The study, conducted in Hungary, involved analyzing mammograms from 25,065 women across four screening sites. In the double-reading gold standard practice, two radiologists assess mammograms and decide whether to recall women for further investigation based on suspected cancerous tissue.
Mia functioned as an additional ‘reader’ in this study. After conventional human readings, Mia flagged potential false negatives to a third human reader, leading to a decision on whether to recall the woman. These false negatives were mammograms initially deemed healthy by humans but revealed subtler signs of cancerous tissue identified by Mia.
Conducted in three phases (two pilot phases and a live roll-out), the study demonstrated that Mia detected 24 more cancers than standard human readings, resulting in a 7% relative increase. This led to 70 more women being recalled, marking a 0.28% relative increase. The additional recalls yielded a 13%, 10%, and 5% relative increase in cancer detection rates in the initial pilot, extended pilot, and live use phases, respectively.
Crucially, 83% of the additional cancers detected by Mia in clinical practice were invasive, underscoring its effectiveness in identifying cancers where early detection is vital. Dr. Peter Kecskemethy, CEO of Kheiron, emphasized the compelling real-world data from Hungary, advocating for the integration of Mia into breast screening practices given its dramatic improvement in cancer detection.
Dr. Ben Glocker, co-author of the study and leader of machine learning research teams at Imperial College and Kheiron, expressed enthusiasm about the study’s outcomes, indicating that these results have surpassed their expectations. The research demonstrates that employing AI can serve as an effective safety net, preventing subtle signs of cancer from slipping through the cracks. Witnessing firsthand the substantial reduction in missed cancers during breast screening with the use of AI is significant, providing a major impetus for their mission to revolutionize cancer care through AI technology.
The researchers underscored the need to replicate these findings in other countries with diverse screening programs and populations. Additionally, they emphasized the importance of longer follow-up periods, beyond the initial two to nine months, to comprehensively evaluate Mia’s impact on cancer detection and mortality reduction.
In the UK, an ongoing study, nearing its conclusion, aims to validate the advantages of the AI-assisted extra reader workflow, and the team is embarking on a rollout of the technology in the United States.
Patient and Public Board Member to Kheiron, Ali Baron, shared her perspective, pointed out that she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ in late 2019. The radiologist noted that catching it early was ‘good luck.’ She wants to eliminate luck from this equation.
“I would love for Mia to be in place and know that this was working in the background to help radiologists. This technology should be there for all women.”
Dr Glocker said “This is just the beginning of our work with Kheiron. We are actively working on new methodologies for the safe deployment and continuous monitoring of Mia to support a US and UK rollout. We are working hard to make sure that as many women as possible will benefit from the use of this new technology within the next year.”
