AI Aids Risk Prediction Classification for Prostate Cancer

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 6, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Artificial intelligence (AI)-based risk classification improves prognostication with localized prostate cancer, according to a study published online Oct. 24 in JCO Precision Oncology.

Jonathan David Tward, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and colleagues developed a clinically usable risk grouping system using multimodal AI (MMAI) models to risk-stratify localized prostate cancer. The analysis included 9,787 patients with localized prostate cancer from eight phase 3 trials treated with radiation therapy, androgen deprivation therapy, and/or chemotherapy followed for a median 7.9 years.

The researchers found that according to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) risk categories, 30.4 percent of patients were low-risk, 25.5 percent intermediate-risk, and 44.1 percent high-risk. Based on MMAI risk classification, 43.5 percent of patients were low-risk, 34.6 percent intermediate-risk, and 21.8 percent high-risk, yielding reclassification of 1,039 patients (42.0 percent). The 10-year metastasis risks were comparable despite the MMAI low-risk group being larger than the NCCN low-risk group (1.7 percent for NCCN versus 3.2 percent for MMAI). For NCCN high-risk patients, the overall 10-year metastasis risk was 16.6 percent, with MMAI further stratifying this group into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk, with metastasis rates of 3.4, 8.2, and 26.3 percent, respectively.

"This approach aims to prevent both overtreatment and undertreatment in localized prostate cancer, facilitating shared decision-making," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

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