AI reduces miss rate of precancerous polyps in colorectal cancer screening

Between February 2020 and May 2021, 230 study participants each underwent two back-to-back colonoscopies on the same day at eight hospitals and community clinics in the U.S., U.K. and Italy. One colonoscopy used AI; the other, a standard colonoscopy, did not.

The rate at which precancerous colorectal polyps is missed has been estimated to be 25%. In this study, the miss rate was 15.5% in the group that had the AI colonoscopy first. The miss rate was 32.4 % in the group that had standard colonoscopy first. The AI colonoscopy detected more polyps that were smaller, flatter and in the proximal and distal colon.

"Colorectal cancer is almost entirely preventable with proper screening," says senior author Michael B. Wallace, M.D., division chair of gastroenterology and hepatology at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and the Fred C. Andersen Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. "Using artificial intelligence to detect colon polyps and potentially save lives is welcome and promising news for patients and their families."

In addition, false negative rates were 6.8% in the group that had the AI colonoscopy first. It was 29.6% in the group that had standard colonoscopy first. A false-negative result indicates that you do not have a particular condition, when in fact you do.