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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Artif Intell Gastroenterol. Dec 8, 2023; 4(3): 48-63
Published online Dec 8, 2023. doi: 10.35712/aig.v4.i3.48
Role of artificial intelligence in the characterization of indeterminate pancreatic head mass and its usefulness in preoperative diagnosis
Palash Rawlani, Nalini Kanta Ghosh, Ashok Kumar
Palash Rawlani, Nalini Kanta Ghosh, Ashok Kumar, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India
Author contributions: Kumar A designed the concept, corrected, and finalized the manuscript; Ghosh NK and Palash R wrote the manuscript and reviewed the literature; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Dr. Kumar has nothing to disclose.
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: Ashok Kumar, BSc, FASCRS, FRCS, FRCS (Ed), FRCS (Hon), MBBS, MCh, MS, Professor, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Raebareli Road, Lucknow 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India. doc.ashokgupta@gmail.com
Received: July 27, 2023
Peer-review started: July 27, 2023
First decision: August 31, 2023
Revised: September 11, 2023
Accepted: October 8, 2023
Article in press: October 8, 2023
Published online: December 8, 2023
Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in various fields of day-to-day life and its role in medicine is immense. Understanding of oncology has been improved with the introduction of AI which helps in diagnosis, treatment planning, management, prognosis, and follow-up. It also helps to identify high-risk groups who can be subjected to timely screening for early detection of malignant conditions. It is more important in pancreatic cancer as it is one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide and there are no specific early features (clinical and radiological) for diagnosis. With improvement in imaging modalities (computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopic ultrasound), most often clinicians were being challenged with lesions that were difficult to diagnose with human competence. AI has been used in various other branches of medicine to differentiate such indeterminate lesions including the thyroid gland, breast, lungs, liver, adrenal gland, kidney, etc. In the case of pancreatic cancer, the role of AI has been explored and is still ongoing. This review article will focus on how AI can be used to diagnose pancreatic cancer early or differentiate it from benign pancreatic lesions, therefore, management can be planned at an earlier stage.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, Indeterminate pancreatic lesion, Imaging, Biomarkers, Diagnosis

Core Tip: Surgical management of a pancreatic head lesion usually requires pancreaticoduodenectomy, which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. For a benign lesion it is unacceptable. The investigation modalities i.e. computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopic ultrasound, positron emission tomography, and biochemical markers are available today to distinguish benign from malignant lesions and have their limitations (human judgmental errors). The application of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can minimize human errors and improve the sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic yield. The AI can help with great precision in differentiating benign from malignant lesions, affecting the management strategy and minimizing post-operative complications.