AI Shows Hopeful Promise for Spotting Breast Cancer Years Earlier

A new Swedish study offers encouraging news for breast cancer screening: artificial intelligence may be able to recognize early warning signs of the disease years before a traditional diagnosis is made.

Researchers analyzed 88,963 mammograms from more than 31,000 patients over a 10-year period and found that modern AI tools could provide an “early alert” for breast cancer as much as six years in advance.

The work, published in the journal Radiology, tested three commercially available AI-based computer-assisted detection systems, known as AI-CAD, using mammogram data from women ages 40 to 74 across Sweden.

The results were promising. AI-CAD cancer prediction scores were generally higher in people who were later diagnosed with breast cancer, while those who remained cancer-free tended to receive low scores.

“Approximately 20% of breast cancer cases demonstrate mammographic signs that are already visible to AI around six years before diagnosis,” said senior co-author Professor Fredrik Strand, of Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm.

“Our study confirms the potential of AI to, in some cases, find signs of cancer in the mammograms much earlier than when radiologists detected it.”

The mammograms studied were taken between 2008 and 2019, with screening exams scheduled every two years. After each exam, two radiologists reviewed the images. During the study period, 12,072 participants, or 38.5%, were diagnosed with cancer by radiologist readers.

The AI systems were able to identify many of these cancers at earlier screening points. At 90% specificity, the tools flagged nearly 20% of participants six years before their recorded diagnosis, up to 25% four years before diagnosis, and nearly 40% two years before diagnosis.

AI has already shown promise in helping predict five-year breast cancer risk and identifying women who may develop “interval” cancers between regular mammograms. This study adds another hopeful possibility: using AI to notice subtle changes long before cancer is typically found.

“This study aims to add to the growing literature regarding the application of AI in breast cancer screening and how it can help play a role in earlier detection of breast cancer,” said Strand.

“Analyzing the AI scores of screened individuals over time could provide insight into how early detectable changes arise, potentially allowing for earlier intervention.”

The findings point to a bright and beneficial future for AI in medicine, where technology may help doctors gain more time, more insight, and more opportunities to support patients earlier.