Machine learning trumps conventional analysis in detecting lymphedema

It can occur after cancer surgery or as late as 20 years after, Fu and co-authors said. But within a decade of treatment, 41 percent of breast cancer patients experience it. Fu's team focused on machine learning since the technology excels in processing handfuls of data points that are independent from one another, just like lymphedema symptoms. Three hundred and fifty-five women who had undergone breast cancer treatment were included in the study, in which the researchers collected demographic and clinical information before asking patients whether they were experiencing any of 26 lymphedema systems. They said all five modalities identified lymphedema more accurately than the standard statistical approach, but the artificial neural network was the most successful, with 93.8 percent accuracy.