Scientists from the Case Western Reserve University have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, by using MRI data, to know if someone is likely to have a prostate cancer recurrence.

This AI tool, RadClip, was developed in order to help doctors and surgeons find the best treatments for patients suffering from prostate cancer. Hence, being able to determine which men might have a recurrence or who might die from prostate cancer is essential as it will help doctors give additional therapy earlier.

RadClip will be able to predict this but also to identify, on preoperative MRI, small heterogeneity and texture pattern differences from inside and outside the tumor area. Hence, it will be easier to estimate and predict post-surgical outcomes.

In order to make this possible, RadClip uses AI algorithms to examine MRI scans and molecular data from 200 patients from Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Administration Medical Center.

By bringing together various information, such as radiologic scans, digitized pathology specimen slides, and genomic data, the scientists are able to get a more comprehensive characterization of the disease. The results were then compared with other predictive strategies. It was reported afterward that RadClip provides superior prognostic information to these tools.

With RadClip, healthcare providers will have a non-invasive method that will help them make short-term and long-term decisions on treatment. Moreover, surgeons will be able to use the predictive data about cancer existence and pre-operative MRI to know how much tissue to remove, and oncologists can use the estimates of recurrence to know which patients will need post-surgical adjuvant treatment.

Therefore, this information will give healthcare providers more time to adjust their treatment plans and give the best possible treatments to patients.