National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of detecting pancreatic tumors smaller than 2cm, potentially increasing patients’ five-year survival rate to 80 percent.
In a news release yesterday, the hospital said its launch of the technology, named PANCREASaver, late last year represents a major breakthrough in the early detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic tumors are among the deadliest cancers due to their typically asymptomatic onset, difficulty in early detection and rapid progression, NTUH radiologist Chen Po-ting (陳柏廷) told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
Globally, about 90 percent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die from the disease, he added.
Only 2 to 3 percent of people with pancreatic cancer are fortunate enough to be diagnosed when their tumor is smaller than 2cm, and just 10 to 15 percent are diagnosed while the tumor remains operable, although even then, the risk of recurrence remains high, he said.
About 80 percent of patients are diagnosed only after the tumor has progressed to an inoperable stage, he added.
While early detection of tumors smaller than 2cm is critical for improving the chances of survival, identifying them through medical imaging is difficult with the naked eye, he said.
“With the sheer amount of images doctors have to process on a daily basis, [finding a small tumor] is like looking for a needle at the bottom of the ocean,” Chen said.
Clinical trials showed that PANCREASaver achieved an 86.4 percent success rate in detecting pancreatic tumors smaller than 2cm, and a 93.4 percent success rate for pancreatic tumor detection overall, he said.
Testing conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare using archived medical images found the system had a 74.4 percent success rate, he added.
The AI-powered system can analyze medical images and highlight suspicious regions for radiologists to review, completing the process within two minutes, Chen said.
In the past, physicians often had no choice but to passively observe people suspected of having pancreatic tumors, which could prove deadly, as tumors can grow beyond 2cm in just three months, said Liao Wei-chi (廖偉智), director of the hospital’s integrated diagnosis and therapeutics department.
PANCREASaver has obtained four patents in Taiwan and the US, and research on the technology has been published in Lancet Digital Health and other leading medical journals, he added.
The technology allows people to receive a diagnosis within a week, but it is not suitable for people with stents, other metal implants or a history of prior surgeries, said Chen Shyh-jye (陳世杰), director of the hospital’s Medical Imaging Technology Department.
PANCREASaver is available at the hospital as a self-paid image analysis service.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS