A new AI-based risk prediction system could help catch deadly pancreatic cancer cases earlier

As a result, it's essential to try to catch pancreatic cancer at the earliest stage possible. A team of researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) worked with Limor Appelbaum, a staff scientist in the department of radiation oncology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, to develop an AI system that predicts a patient's likelihood of developing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common form of the cancer. The system outperformed current diagnostic standards and could someday be used in a clinical setting to identify patients who could benefit from early screening or testing, helping catch the disease earlier and save lives. The research was published in the journal eBioMedicine last month. The researchers' goal was a model capable of predicting a patient's risk of being diagnosed with PDAC in the next six to 18 months, making early-stage detection and cure more likely.