In a Swedish retrospective study, researchers tested three AI-based computer-assisted detection (AI-CAD) systems on mammogram data from a large screening population. They found that cancer prediction scores issued by AI-CAD were elevated, on average, for individuals who were eventually diagnosed with breast cancer, while scores were low for those who remained cancer-free.

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