Improving breast cancer screening workflows with machine learning

Google Research · 3 months ago

Google Research and NHS organizations published two studies in Nature Cancer evaluating an AI system for breast cancer screening, comparing it to the current double-read human workflow. The AI system achieved 9.33 cancer detections per 1,000 women versus 7.54 for the original first reader, and detected 25% of interval cancers missed by human readers, while the AI-enabled workflow reduced total human reading time by 36-44% without compromising detection sensitivity or specificity. The findings suggest AI could help address the projected 40% radiologist shortfall by 2028, though challenges remain in managing arbitration volumes and improving explainability to prevent human readers from overruling correct AI decisions.