A new artificial intelligence (AI) model can detect the deadliest skin cancer with 100% accuracy, highlighting the rapid improvement of AI in medicine, say researchers from the UK. AI detected more than 99% of all skin cancers.
The researchers tested the AI by integrating it into a clinical diagnosis process ― anticipating a future in which AI helps doctors catch skin cancer faster and triage patients.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the US; 1 in 5 Americans develop skin cancer by age 70. With melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, the 5-year survival rate is better than 99% if caught early, though only about three quarters of melanomas are caught at this stage.
Amid rising skin cancer rates come concerns that the number of dermatologists in the workforce isn't keeping pace. That may be why the average wait time for a dermatology appointment is trending up ― in 2022, it reached 34.5 days.
The studywhich was presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress last week and has not yet been published, involved 6900 patients in the UK with suspected skin cancer. The patients had been referred by their primary care physicians. The researchers took images of the suspicious areas and uploaded them to the AI software.
