Context: The All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in New Delhi has recently unveiled an AI-based solution to assist in the early detection of Breast Cancer.
Relevance of The Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Breast Cancer; New AI Cancer Detection Tool
What is Breast Cancer?
- Breast cancer results from abnormal growth in breast cells which form tumours.
- Breast cancer cells begin inside the milk ducts and/or the milk-producing lobules of the breast. The cells can spread into nearby breast tissue and create tumours.
- The earliest form (in situ) is not life-threatening if detected in early stages.
- In later cases, invasive cancers can spread to nearby lymph nodes or other organs (metastasize). Metastasis can be life-threatening and fatal.
- Females at highest risk: Approximately 99% of breast cancers occur in women and 0.5–1% of breast cancers occur in men.
- Treatment: Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgical removal of breasts etc.
- Prevalence in India: Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in women in India. India ranks highest in the number of estimated breast cancer deaths (98,337) for the year 2022 among females.
Risk Factors:
Certain factors increase the risk of breast cancer, they include-
- Increasing age (females over 40 years).
- Lifestyle factors: Obesity, harmful use of alcohol, tobacco use, history of radiation exposure etc.
- Genetic factors: The risks of developing breast cancer are markedly increased in people who inherit mutated BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.
- BRCA1 or BRCA2 are tumour suppressor genes present in both males and females. They produce proteins that repair DNA and are responsible for the stability of genetic material.
- Mutations in these genes increase the chances of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer.
About New AI Cancer Detection Tool:
- The All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) in New Delhi has recently unveiled an AI-based solution that assists with the early detection of Breast Cancer.
- Aim: Improving early breast cancer detection and reducing mortality by identifying breast cancer patterns specific to Indian women.
- The project is part of the Indian government’s flagship scheme to establish three Centres of Excellence (CoE) in AI, focusing on healthcare, agriculture, and sustainable cities.
How will the AI model work?
- The AI model will first scan a five-year database of women tested for breast cancer at some medical institutions (presently pilot study- AIIMS Delhi, NCI Jhajjar and PGI Chandigarh) regardless if they were tested negative or had developed cancer.
- For identifying Indian risk factors for breast cancer, ASHA workers will collect data (after detailed conversations with families about their personal health status and family history of diseases) which will be fed into the AI tool.
- After analysing the data, the AI tool will predict the risk of developing breast cancer by combining a patient’s general test results with their lifestyle and family history data.
- It will extract common risk factors and then recommend mammograms (specialised X-rays to check for signs of breast cancer) for women it thinks are cancer-prone.
- It will also help codify what constitutes a no-risk category.
Benefits of AI Cancer detection Tool:
- Facilitate early screening: AI-trained systems can recognise complex features in mammograms that indicate cancer, thus picking up even the smallest signs.
- Data-profiling based on risk factors: AI can interpret the data pool and identify which women may need mammograms while reassuring others with low-risk profiles.
- Reduce cost: The AI-trained systems would not require a radiologist, help reduce the amount of manual work involved in screening which can lower costs.
- Facilitate cancer detection in remote areas: The tool can provide advanced breast cancer screening, even in remote areas where there is a shortage of trained radiologists.
Presently, a pilot project has been initiated. If the AI tool is found to be effective, then an economic assessment will be conducted on the cost required to scale this up pan-India and take it up for licensing.