By the time doctors detect pancreatic cancer, it\u2019s often too late to treat effectively. But a new study suggests that artificial intelligence might be able to find signs of the disease before tumors are visible on a scan.<\/p>\n
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An AI model developed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, detected abnormalities on patients\u2019 CT scans up to three years before they were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, according to research published this week<\/a> in the journal Gut. <\/p>\n The scientists behind the model, which is now being evaluated in a clinical trial, trained it by feeding in CT scans from patients who had been screened for other medical conditions then were later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The team then had radiologists review the scans and compared their ability to find early signs of cancer to that of the AI model. The model was found to be three times better at identifying the early signs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew, based on the biology of the disease, that this is not something which is coming all of a sudden in three months \u2026 We knew that the signal was there. We just needed to find a way to be able to detect it,\u201d said Dr. Ajit Goenka, a radiologist at Mayo Clinic and an author of the study.<\/p>\n With a five-year survival rate of 13%<\/a>, pancreatic cancer is on track to become the second leading cause of cancer deaths<\/a> by 2030. Around 80% of patients are diagnosed after the disease has reached an advanced stage. <\/p>\n Unlike colon or breast cancer, there is no routine screening for pancreatic cancer in healthy people. Feeling for a lump is nearly impossible, since the pancreas is buried deep in the abdomen. And typical symptoms like stomach pain and sudden weight loss usually don\u2019t begin until the cancer has spread to other organs. <\/p>\n Early markers of the disease are often too subtle to be seen by the human eye on a scan. In many cases, patients\u2019 scans appear normal as little as six months before they\u2019re diagnosed. <\/p>\n \u201cI analyze these images every day,\u201d said Dr. Daniel Jeong, a diagnostic radiologist at Moffitt Cancer Center who was not involved in the Mayo Clinic research. \u201cWe\u2019re really looking for a measurable mass that could represent the cancer. So these tumors need to grow to a certain level to become visible.\u201d<\/p>\n Goenka said one signature of early cancer that the AI model was able to detect is abnormal cells in the pancreas that shelter and protect cancer from the body\u2019s immune defenses. Scientists have known such cells exist but struggled to find them on scans.<\/p>\n Goenka said the model could someday be useful for people who already have risk factors for the disease \u2014 such as a family history or diabetes \u2014 but don\u2019t have any symptoms. From there, doctors would likely recommend additional blood work and imaging.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, if they have symptoms and if it\u2019s truly pancreas cancer, you don\u2019t need AI for that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The AI model is one of several recent advancements in pancreatic cancer research. Last month, the results of an early-stage trial showed that an mRNA vaccine prolonged survival<\/a> in eight patients with pancreatic cancer. An experimental drug called daraxonrasib was also found to double patients\u2019 life expectancy in a later-stage trial. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the drug\u2019s developer, Revolution Medicines, could expand access to it in a controlled setting<\/a> for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who have already tried other treatments. Daraxonrasib hasn\u2019t been FDA-approved yet.<\/p>\n