AI-powered technology enhances early detection of bowel cancer in UK Trial

New Delhi: Newcastle University has led a successful trial demonstrating how artificial intelligence (AI) can significantly improve the early detection of bowel cancer. The COLO-DETECT trial, which involved 2,032 patients across 10 centers in England, showed that AI technology can enhance the accuracy of colonoscopies in identifying precancerous polyps, potentially saving countless lives.

The trial utilized the GI Genius™ AI device, an advanced computer module that works in tandem with existing colonoscopy equipment. This technology was found to be more effective in detecting adenomas—abnormalities in the bowel that have the potential to become cancerous. As a result of the trial’s success, the technology will continue to be employed in endoscopy units at South Tyneside District Hospital and Sunderland Royal Hospital.

Professor Colin Rees, who led the trial and serves as Professor of Gastroenterology at Newcastle University, expressed, “We are delighted with the outcome of this trial. Simply put, it will save lives. This trial has demonstrated that using artificial intelligence can significantly increase the detection of the kinds of abnormalities in the bowel that may progress to cancer. It allows us to find these lesions, remove them, and stop them from turning into cancer.”

He added, “Crucially, we know that some of the polyps that lead to cancer are small polyps or flat polyps. The AI helped us find more of these lesions, it is finding the things we are concerned about as well as spotting things that we can miss with the human eye.”

COLO-DETECT was a randomized controlled trial in which half of the participants received colonoscopies using AI, while the other half underwent traditional colonoscopies. During the procedure, the AI device highlighted potential polyps on the screen with green boxes, aiding clinicians in their decision-making process.

Bowel cancer remains a significant health issue in the UK, with approximately 43,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The hope is that AI technology will now be adopted more widely to catch the disease in its early stages. Professor Rees emphasized the importance of early detection, noting that “bowel cancer is a disease that people shouldn’t be dying from. We have a long window of time when these polyps develop, probably about 10 to 15 years from developing a point to them becoming cancer.”

“We are now using this technology routinely in our practice, and I hope that it will be used more extensively, and the fantastic thing about AI is that it learns. It is trained by looking at images, using the data to find the differences between the images, and it is adding to its knowledge all the time, so it’s only going to get better,” he added.

The results of the COLO-DETECT trial were published in Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology on August 14, 2024.