January 1, AI Uncovers Stealth Breast Cancer Threats

Wyatt’s Take

• AI is helping spot tough-to-find breast cancers before they spread.
• Doctors are training machines on real cancer cases to predict who is most at risk.
• New tech could help save lives if it passes real-world testing.

Researchers are turning to artificial intelligence to tackle lobular breast cancer. This hard-to-spot type can slip past regular scans, making early treatment tough.

Lobular breast cancer makes up 10% to 15% of all breast cases in America. It spreads in thin lines, not clumps, so mammograms can miss it until it’s grown or moved.

Women over 40 with dense breast tissue face even more risk because tumors hide better in dense tissue. Regular tests often don’t spot the subtle changes of lobular cancer.

“We urgently need better tools … that can predict which patients are truly at high risk.”

Doctors at Ohio State are using AI to look at scans and patient records. They train it on real cases so it can find hidden signs of the disease and who might get it again later.

“The genomic tests we currently use often give unclear or conflicting results for lobular cancer, which makes it harder for oncologists to decide on the best treatment,” Dr. Arya Roy explained. “We urgently need better tools — specific to lobular cancer — that can predict which patients are truly at high risk.”

This new AI is still being tested, with hopes to catch more cancers sooner for those with higher risk. If doctors know a patient is in danger of the cancer coming back, they can keep a close eye and treat sooner.

“So here is where we are using artificial intelligence techniques to identify the patients who are at risk of this cancer coming back,” said Roy. She hopes the new scoring tests will help everyone with lobular cancer, not just a few.

Another doctor, Harvey Castro, sees promise but warns that AI needs more real-world testing. Old images used for training can miss newer patterns, and dense tissue is still tough for machines to read. “Dense breast tissue remains AI’s Achilles heel,” he said.

He cautions that new AI systems have to work for all groups, not just in labs. “But before these tools enter routine care, we must ensure they’re tested on real-world, diverse populations, not just perfect lab data.”

Women are urged to ask their doctors about extra scans if they have questions or risks.

Full story from Fox News

Wyatt Matters

This research means hope for families worried about cancer sneaking by unnoticed. New tools like these could lead to better answers, quicker care, and lives saved for folks in the heartland.