One of the miracles of modern medicine is the vast amount of information clinicians have at their disposal to help diagnose and treat cancer patients — seemingly unlimited data related to specific diseases and, more recently, patients’ own tumors and genetic makeup.
“We create so much data and, increasingly, we are focused on how to really use all of it to help provide better care,” said Peter Hulick, MD, The Janardan D. Khandekar, MD, Chair of Personalized Medicine and Medical Director of Mark R. Neaman Center for Personalized Medicine at Endeavor Health.
And that’s where one of the most promising uses of artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to make a difference.
Analyzing complex data patterns to identify risk
“The hope with AI is that it helps pull up the right information at the right time to help physicians gain insights they might otherwise miss in the face of so many different complex patterns and so much information,” added Dr. Hulick.
Early cancer diagnosis is always an important goal as it leads to more treatment options and better outcomes. Using AI to review and integrate massive amounts of genomic data against individual data in medical records with an eye to identifying those at higher risk is an emerging area of promise, said Dr. Hulick. This might be particularly beneficial for cancers like ovarian and pancreatic that are not typically diagnosed in early stages.
“We’re developing models using AI to identify those at risk of developing certain cancers, to help us see signals earlier and guide screening and treatment,” he added.
Enhancing diagnostic accuracy
AI-driven tools are also in development to help review digital pathology information. AI tools may help identify patterns in imaging, down to the pixel level, to more efficiently and effectively predict prognostic markers and identify high-risk lesions, such as in mammography results.
AI models can distinguish faint or subtle changes in radiology images that can go undetected by human reviewers.
As medical systems and cancer centers like Endeavor Health track patient outcomes and databases grow, AI helps physicians search through enormous amounts of data to see what happened to other patients with similar data points, and what treatments worked best for specific attributes.
Transforming personalized care
“We’re still learning where AI will be most useful, but it’s going to be a huge inflection point in how we transform care,” said Dr. Hulick.
For example, Endeavor Health’s new ambient AI documentation program is taking the burden of note-taking off physicians, letting them spend less time staring at screens and more time listening to patients.
“We know there are concerns about losing physicians’ personal relationships with patients and compassion, and these tools are designed to help us focus more on those personal connections, more time for patients and families because of the new efficiencies,” stressed Dr. Hulick.
Physician experience still essential
At the same time, it’s critically important to note that any of the AI tools are just that — tools and a bridge for the physician, who will always review the content and findings.
“It helps us get to the information we need more quickly and then use our own professional judgement and experience to work with patients and make the best decisions for their personalized screening and treatment plans,” said Dr. Hulick.
From helping identify cancer signals sooner to identifying those at risk earlier, AI is offering enormous promise in the ongoing battle against cancer.
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