UK-based cancertech company Kheiron has made a significant leap in the fight against breast cancer with their AI tool, Mia, as evidenced by a recent study published in Nature Medicine. According to the new paper Mia has demonstrated the ability to increase breast cancer detection by up to 13%. This advancement could potentially reduce the rate of missed cancers by half, translating to about 2,000 lives saved yearly in the UK and 40,000 in the US.
Kheiron Founder Peter Kecskemethy shared on LinkedIn: “Just this week we spoke to a woman whose early stage cancer was picked up by Mia but missed by radiologists. It was very moving to hear her speak about how lucky she feels to have had her cancer picked up at an earlier stage when her prognosis is so much better and her treatment is so less severe.”
The study in Nature Medicine provides detailed insights into the prospective implementation of Mia. The AI system, which was used as an additional reader in breast cancer screening, showed a significant increase in cancer detection rates with minimal unnecessary recalls. Its deployment followed a carefully structured three-phase approach, starting with a single-center pilot, expanding to a multicenter pilot, and finally culminating in a full live rollout. Consistently across all phases, Mia demonstrated its efficacy.
Most notably, the majority of the cancer cases detected by Mia were invasive and small-sized, underscoring the tool’s capability in identifying early-stage cancers. The integration of AI tools like Mia into clinical practices represents a potential paradigm shift in how early detection and treatment of cancer are approached.
