Doctors are detecting noticeably more cancer cases thanks to artificial intelligence that searches GP records for hidden trends.
Using the “C the Signs” AI program, the cancer detection rate at GP practices increased from 58.7% to 66.0%. A patient’s past medical history, test results, prescriptions, and treatments are gathered from their medical record, together with other personal details like age, family history, and postcode that may suggest a higher risk of cancer.
Additionally, it encourages general practitioners to question patients about any new symptoms they may be experiencing. If the tool finds patterns in the data that point to a higher risk of a certain kind of cancer, it will suggest testing or a clinical pathway for the patient to follow.
C the Signs is utilized in over 1,400 practices in England, or 15% of all practices. In May 2021, it underwent testing in 35 practices in the east of the country, with a patient population of 420,000.
The findings, which were released in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, demonstrate that by March 31, 2022, the cancer detection rate increased from 58.7% to 66.0%, whereas the rate for practices that did not use the system stayed constant.
“It could be a scan, an ultrasound, or they could need to be seen by a specialist at a clinic,” said Bea Bakshi, a general practitioner who developed the system alongside Miles Payling, her colleague.
Doctors are reminded to verify test results and referrals from other sources using patient tracking via the C the Signs system. According to Bakshi, “our system has detected over 50 different types of cancers.” “What’s important is that the diagnosis is not only earlier but also faster.
“In an earlier study, Bakshi and her colleagues evaluated 118,677 patients to validate the tool. They discovered that 7,295 of the patients received a cancer diagnosis and 7,056 of them were correctly recognized by the algorithm.
Just 239 out of 8,453 patients who had the tool’s conclusion that a patient’s cancer was unlikely to be real received a confirmed diagnosis within six months (approximately 2.8%). After meeting a patient in the hospital who had received a delayed diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and passed away three weeks later, Bakshi created the tool.
She said, “It stuck with me as a problem area.” “Why are cancer patients receiving their diagnoses so late?”
Although there are three cancer screening programs in the UK for bowel, breast, and cervical cancers, there are 200 different forms of cancer, some of which have no symptoms at all or may present with symptoms that are readily misdiagnosed as other illnesses.
According to Bakshi, malignancies that are not screenable or that we are not screening for account for two-thirds of all fatalities. “It takes a patient three to five visits to their general practitioner before they are diagnosed with cancer. GPs find eight new instances of cancer on average annually.
When deciding whether to refer a patient for cancer, general practitioners consult guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
As co-author of the study and a general practitioner who leads the Primary Care Group for the East of England Cancer Alliances, Peter Holloway remarked, “They’re quite comprehensive guidelines, but no GP can remember them all.”
“We are aware that many cancers exhibit nebulous symptoms, and that some of them are challenging to characterize and may not always correspond with our recommendations.”
A patient who had diarrhea and some lower abdominal pain was seen by Holloway in his early 60s. He described the symptoms as “very common, and not things that would lead you to do a referral for suspected cancer.” However, the C the Signs tool suggested a feces examination.
As a result of the test being positive, Holloway said, “he was referred, and it turned out he had colorectal cancer, which was diagnosed early and treated successfully.” “He’s okay, but we might not have referred him for several months if we had followed the strict guidelines.”
By 2028, 75% of cancer cases are expected to be identified as stage one or stage two, according to NHS England’s Long-Term Plan for Cancer. The effectiveness of the Galleri blood test, which looks for DNA from more than 50 different kinds of tumors, is another area of study being conducted by the NHS. Since the trial started in September 2021, 140,000 individuals have been examined.
According to Holloway, increased patient understanding of the many cancer symptoms and improved access to diagnostic tools like CT and MRI scanners are crucial components of cancer detection, as are decision support systems like C the Signs.
“Record numbers of people are being checked and treated for cancer, and we are now diagnosing a higher proportion of cancers at an early stage, increasing people’s chances of survival,” said Prof. Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer at NHS England. “This is despite increased demand and pressure on services.”
“We are aware that there is much more we can do to support individuals receiving cancer care, and utilizing state-of-the-art technologies—like “teledermatology” for skin cancer diagnosis, community lung trucks, and home testing for bowel cancer—is a crucial component of our efforts to shorten wait times and detect cancers early on,” he added.
