Breast density expert Associate Professor Wendy Ingman says artificial intelligence (AI) will play an increasingly important role in identifying women at high risk for breast cancer.
In a recent perspective article in the medical journal Trends in Cancer, A/Prof Ingman and colleagues from across Australia explore how AI can analyse mammograms to uncover subtle features that may indicate a heightened risk for the disease.
Head of the Breast Biology and Cancer Unit at the Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Research based at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, A/Prof Ingman said AI has the potential to revolutionise breast cancer screening.
“Artificial intelligence is enabling us to delve deeply into the information inherent in a mammogram and identify novel features associated with higher risk of a future breast cancer diagnosis,” A/Prof Ingman said.
What is breast density? Learn more in our Research Pulse podcast chat with Wendy. Click to listen.
Identifying breast cancer risk
For decades, mammographic breast density—patterns of white and dark areas on a mammogram—has been studied as a risk factor for breast cancer. AI is enhancing this approach.
“AI methods are now uncovering mammographic features that are stronger predictors of breast cancer risk than any other known risk factor,” A/Prof Ingman said.
The perspective article was a collaborative effort by A/Prof Ingman with other experts from institutions including the University of Adelaide, the University of Melbourne, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and the University of Western Australia.
The authors suggest that in the future, AI may be able to identify early malignancies undetectable by radiologists. Certain mammographic features detectable by AI could represent increased chance of cancer development.
Learn more about breast density
A/Prof Ingman emphasised that even with these advances, mammographic density in itself remains a significant breast cancer risk factor.
“AI is enabling us to refine mammographic density as a risk factor, and hone in on particular features in a mammogram that are stronger risk predictors, however high mammographic density remains a significant breast cancer risk factor,” said A/Prof Ingman.
“More information about mammographic breast density can be found on the InforMD website that our research team developed to help de-mystify this breast cancer risk factor.”
The InforMD website is available at https://informd.org.au/
Read the perspective article here: Artificial intelligence improves mammography-based breast cancer risk prediction
Lead image reproduced with permission from InforMD.
