In an On Medicine blog for World Cancer Day 2023, Monica Dolton, Margaret Horton and Clare Verrill discuss the ARTICULATE PRO study to evaluate the use of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis of prostate cancer.
Figure of Paige Prostate outputs that are designed to help pathologists review prostate biopsy tissue. Left: digital image of a prostate core needle biopsy; Middle: Paige Prostate indicates a single focus of interest on the tissue that the algorithm has determined is most likely to harbor cancer; Right: Paige Prostate displays an overlay that outputs the areas of tissue that the algorithm has determined are suspicious for being cancerous.
ARTICULATE PRO is a multicenter study led by the University of Oxford that is evaluating the use of Paige Prostate*+, an AI-based software designed to help pathologists diagnose prostate cancer. Typically, men who may have prostate cancer undergo a biopsy and thin slices of the biopsied tissue are prepared in a histopathology laboratory so that pathologists can examine the tissue using a microscope to determine if the patient does in fact have cancer.
We began in a small setting, with a focus group of prostate cancer patients and survivors and posed these questions to them. We were encouraged to hear them express strong vocal support for anything that helps to make the most precise and accurate diagnosis, including the use of AI. Following the survey, ARTICULATE PRO engaged patient representatives to work as part of our study team. They provide further rich insights from their lived experience with prostate cancer, which we have applied to help the investigators define the shape and scope of the study to ensure it best serves physician and patient interests.