Artificial Intelligence as a Potential Tool for Predicting Surgical Margin Status in Early Breast Cancer Using Mammographic Specimen Images.

Journal: Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)
Published Date:

Abstract

: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women globally, with an increasing incidence, particularly in younger populations. Achieving complete surgical excision is essential to reduce recurrence. Artificial intelligence (AI), including large language models like ChatGPT, has potential for supporting diagnostic tasks, though its role in surgical oncology remains limited. : This retrospective study evaluated ChatGPT's performance (ChatGPT-4, OpenAI, March 2025) in predicting surgical margin status (R0 or R1) based on intraoperative mammograms of lumpectomy specimens. AI-generated responses were compared with histopathological findings. Performance was evaluated using sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), F1 score, and Cohen's kappa coefficient. : Out of a total of 100 patients, ChatGPT achieved an accuracy of 84.0% in predicting surgical margin status. Sensitivity for identifying R1 cases (incomplete excision) was 60.0%, while specificity for R0 (complete excision) was 86.7%. The positive predictive value (PPV) was 33.3%, and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 95.1%. The F1 score for R1 classification was 0.43, and Cohen's kappa coefficient was 0.34, indicating moderate agreement with histopathological findings. : ChatGPT demonstrated moderate accuracy in confirming complete excision but showed limited reliability in identifying incomplete margins. While promising, these findings emphasize the need for domain-specific training and further validation before such models can be implemented in clinical breast cancer workflows.

Authors

  • David Andras
    Department of General Surgery, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
  • Radu Alexandru Ilies
    Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
  • Victor Esanu
    First Surgical Unit, Emergency County Hospital Cluj, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
  • Stefan Agoston
    Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
  • Tudor Florin Marginean Jumate
    Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
  • George Calin Dindelegan
    Department of General Surgery, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Keywords

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