Nagendra L, Pappachan JM, Fernandez CJ. Artificial intelligence in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer: Recent advances and future directions. Artif Intell Cancer 2023; 4(1): 1-10 [DOI: 10.35713/aic.v4.i1.1]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Joseph M Pappachan, FRCP, MD, Academic Editor, Professor, Senior Researcher, Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Sharoe Green Lane, Preston PR2 9HT, United Kingdom. drpappachan@yahoo.co.in
Research Domain of This Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Article-Type of This Article
Evidence Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Artificial intelligence in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer: Recent advances and future directions
Lakshmi Nagendra, Joseph M Pappachan, Cornelius James Fernandez
Lakshmi Nagendra, Department of Endocrinology, JSS Medical College & JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research Center, Mysore 570015, India
Joseph M Pappachan, Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Preston PR2 9HT, United Kingdom
Joseph M Pappachan, Faculty of Science, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BH, M15 6BH, United Kingdom
Joseph M Pappachan, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
Cornelius James Fernandez, Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Pilgrim Hospital, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, PE21 9QS PE21 9QS, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Nagendra L performed the literature search, interpreted the relevant literature, and drafted the initial manuscript; Pappachan JM and Fernandez CJ conceived the idea and provided additional input to design the paper; Nagendra L and Fernandez CJ prepared the figures and with additional input from Pappachan JM, revised the article critically for important intellectual content after peer reviews; All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts on interest among authors.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Joseph M Pappachan, FRCP, MD, Academic Editor, Professor, Senior Researcher, Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Sharoe Green Lane, Preston PR2 9HT, United Kingdom. drpappachan@yahoo.co.in
Received: June 3, 2023 Peer-review started: June 3, 2023 First decision: July 4, 2023 Revised: July 24, 2023 Accepted: August 7, 2023 Article in press: August 7, 2023 Published online: September 8, 2023
Abstract
The diagnosis and management of thyroid cancer is fraught with challenges despite the advent of innovative diagnostic, surgical, and chemotherapeutic modalities. Challenges like inaccuracy in prognostication, uncertainty in cytopathological diagnosis, trouble in differentiating follicular neoplasms, intra-observer and inter-observer variability on ultrasound imaging preclude personalised treatment in thyroid cancer. Artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing a paradigm shift to the healthcare, powered by quick advancement of the analytic techniques. Several recent studies have shown remarkable progress in thyroid cancer diagnostics based on AI-assisted algorithms. Application of AI techniques in thyroid ultrasonography and cytopathology have shown remarkable impro-vement in sensitivity and specificity over the traditional diagnostic modalities. AI has also been explored in the development of treatment algorithms for indeterminate nodules and for prognostication in the patients with thyroid cancer. The benefits of high repeatability and straightforward implementation of AI in the management of thyroid cancer suggest that it holds promise for clinical application. Limited clinical experience and lack of prospective validation studies remain the biggest drawbacks. Developing verified and trustworthy algorithms after extensive testing and validation using prospective, multi-centre trials is crucial for the future use of AI in the pipeline of precision medicine in the management of thyroid cancer.
Core Tip: In its broadest sense artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of machines to approach problem-solving with human-like logic. Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy with increasing incidence rates, but with stable lower mortality rates. As in the other domains of healthcare, AI is now revolutionising the diagnosis, management, and prognostication of thyroid cancer. In this evidence-based review we update the recent advances in AI-based techniques for the management of thyroid cancer.
