Mammography Breast Cancer Screening Triage Using Deep Learning: A UK Retrospective Study.

Journal: Radiology
Published Date: Nov 1, 2023

Abstract

Background Breast screening enables early detection of cancers; however, most women have normal mammograms, resulting in repetitive and resource-intensive reading tasks. Purpose To investigate if deep learning (DL) algorithms can be used to triage mammograms by identifying normal results to reduce workload or flag cancers that may be overlooked. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, three commercial DL algorithms were investigated using consecutive mammograms from two UK Breast Screening Program sites from January 2015 to December 2017 and January 2017 to December 2018 on devices from two mammography vendors. Normal mammograms with a 3-year follow-up and histopathologically proven cancer detected at screening, the subsequent round, or in the 3-year interval were included. Two algorithm thresholds were set: in scenario A, 99.0% sensitivity for rule-out triage to a lone reader, and in scenario B, approximately 1.0% additional recall providing a rule-in triage for further assessment. Both thresholds were then applied to the screening workflow in scenario C. The sensitivity and specificity were used to assess the overall predictive performance of each DL algorithm. Results The data set comprised 78 849 patients (median age, 59 years [IQR, 53-63 years]) and 887 screening-detected, 439 interval, and 688 subsequent screening round-detected cancers. In scenario A (rule-out triage), models DL-1, DL-2, and DL-3 triaged 35.0% (27 565 of 78 849), 53.2% (41 937 of 78 849), and 55.6% (43 869 of 78 849) of mammograms, respectively, with 0.0% (0 of 887) to 0.1% (one of 887) of screening-detected cancers undetected. In scenario B, DL algorithms triaged in 4.6% (20 of 439) to 8.2% (36 of 439) of interval and 5.2% (36 of 688) to 6.1% (42 of 688) of subsequent-round cancers when applied after the routine double-reading workflow. Combining both approaches in scenario C resulted in an overall noninferior specificity (difference, -0.9%; < .001) and superior sensitivity (difference, 2.7%; < .001) for the adaptive workflow compared with routine double reading for all three algorithms. Conclusion Rule-out and rule-in DL-adapted triage workflows can improve the efficiency and efficacy of mammography breast cancer screening. © RSNA, 2023 See also the editorial by Nishikawa and Lu in this issue.

Authors

  • Sarah E Hickman
    From the Department of Radiology (S.E.H., R.W., G.C.B., J.W.M., F.J.G.) and Department of Medicine (E.P.V.L., Y.R.I., C.M.L.), University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Box 218, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, England; Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, Cambridge, England (R.W., F.J.G.); Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria (R.W.); Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England (A.I.A.R.); and Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England (J.W.M.).
  • Nicholas R Payne
    From the Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Box 218, Level 5, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK (S.E.H., N.R.P., Y.H., A.N.P., M.N., F.J.G.); University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK (M.I.A, A.S.); Department of Radiology, Barts Health NHS Trust, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK (S.E.H.); Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK (R.T.B., A.N.P., F.J.G.); EPSRC Cambridge Mathematics of Information in Healthcare Hub, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (Y.H.); Peel & Schriek Consulting, London, UK (S.H.); Department of Radiology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, UK (B.K., A.J.); and University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK (B.K.).
  • Richard T Black
    From the Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Box 218, Level 5, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK (S.E.H., N.R.P., Y.H., A.N.P., M.N., F.J.G.); University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK (M.I.A, A.S.); Department of Radiology, Barts Health NHS Trust, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK (S.E.H.); Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK (R.T.B., A.N.P., F.J.G.); EPSRC Cambridge Mathematics of Information in Healthcare Hub, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (Y.H.); Peel & Schriek Consulting, London, UK (S.H.); Department of Radiology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, UK (B.K., A.J.); and University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK (B.K.).
  • Yuan Huang
    School of Electrical Engineering and Information, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
  • Andrew N Priest
    Department of Radiology, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Resource Centre, Cambridge University Hospital, Cambridge, UK.
  • Sue Hudson
    From the Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Box 218, Level 5, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK (S.E.H., N.R.P., Y.H., A.N.P., M.N., F.J.G.); University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK (M.I.A, A.S.); Department of Radiology, Barts Health NHS Trust, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK (S.E.H.); Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK (R.T.B., A.N.P., F.J.G.); EPSRC Cambridge Mathematics of Information in Healthcare Hub, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (Y.H.); Peel & Schriek Consulting, London, UK (S.H.); Department of Radiology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, UK (B.K., A.J.); and University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK (B.K.).
  • Bahman Kasmai
    From the Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Box 218, Level 5, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK (S.E.H., N.R.P., Y.H., A.N.P., M.N., F.J.G.); University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK (M.I.A, A.S.); Department of Radiology, Barts Health NHS Trust, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK (S.E.H.); Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK (R.T.B., A.N.P., F.J.G.); EPSRC Cambridge Mathematics of Information in Healthcare Hub, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (Y.H.); Peel & Schriek Consulting, London, UK (S.H.); Department of Radiology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, UK (B.K., A.J.); and University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK (B.K.).
  • Arne Juette
    Nolfolk and Norwich University Hospital Foundation Trust, Norwich, UK.
  • Muzna Nanaa
    From the Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Box 218, Level 5, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK (S.E.H., N.R.P., Y.H., A.N.P., M.N., F.J.G.); University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK (M.I.A, A.S.); Department of Radiology, Barts Health NHS Trust, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK (S.E.H.); Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK (R.T.B., A.N.P., F.J.G.); EPSRC Cambridge Mathematics of Information in Healthcare Hub, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (Y.H.); Peel & Schriek Consulting, London, UK (S.H.); Department of Radiology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, UK (B.K., A.J.); and University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK (B.K.).
  • Muhammad Iqbal Aniq
    From the Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Box 218, Level 5, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK (S.E.H., N.R.P., Y.H., A.N.P., M.N., F.J.G.); University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK (M.I.A, A.S.); Department of Radiology, Barts Health NHS Trust, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK (S.E.H.); Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK (R.T.B., A.N.P., F.J.G.); EPSRC Cambridge Mathematics of Information in Healthcare Hub, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (Y.H.); Peel & Schriek Consulting, London, UK (S.H.); Department of Radiology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, UK (B.K., A.J.); and University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK (B.K.).
  • Anna Sienko
    From the Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Box 218, Level 5, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK (S.E.H., N.R.P., Y.H., A.N.P., M.N., F.J.G.); University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK (M.I.A, A.S.); Department of Radiology, Barts Health NHS Trust, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK (S.E.H.); Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK (R.T.B., A.N.P., F.J.G.); EPSRC Cambridge Mathematics of Information in Healthcare Hub, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (Y.H.); Peel & Schriek Consulting, London, UK (S.H.); Department of Radiology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, UK (B.K., A.J.); and University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK (B.K.).
  • Fiona J Gilbert
    Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, United Kingdom; NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Center, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

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