While REDMOD was more accurate than experienced radiologists, it requires testing in high risk patients, defined as those with unexpected weight loss and newly diagnosed diabetes, before it can be widely used in clinical practice, they add.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma has a poor rate of survival. It’s usually diagnosed late, in the absence of symptoms and visible tissue changes in the early stages, and it rapidly progresses, explain the researchers.

To overcome these challenges, the researchers developed an AI framework, called Radiomics-based Early Detection MODel (REDMOD), designed specifically to pick up the subtle tissue texture patterns (radiomics) of very early pancreatic cancer, which standard computed tomography (CT) scans can’t see.