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conference · 2025 · Published (e-poster)

AI-Assisted Detection of Malignant Breast Cancer in High Breast Density Cohorts: A Retrospective Comparative Study

Adarsh Bhandary Panambur · Anh Hoang Dinh · L. Chung · L. T. Le · Andreas Maier · Alejandro Rodriguez Ruiz · M. Andrews · B. Schmitt · Siming Bayer

01 / SUMMARY

What this paper does

This follow-up to the ECR 2024 study focuses on the subgroup where mammography is weakest: dense breasts with a suspicious finding. A retrospective 12-month Hanoi Medical University Hospital cohort of 443 patients (BI-RADS 4, 5 and selected 3) was assessed against biopsy-confirmed outcomes — 136 negative cases, 292 with unilateral lesions of which 138 were malignant, and 15 bilateral cases with 3 malignant. Inter-rater agreement between readers was ICC 0.718–0.780 (p < 0.001). The commercial AI independently identified 97% of positive patients correctly, while classifying 21% of biopsied patients as low risk.

02 / METHOD

How

Retrospective comparative analysis of biopsy-confirmed outcomes, inter-reader BI-RADS agreement measured by intraclass correlation, and commercial AI risk classification on a cohort enriched for high breast density.

03 / FINDINGS

Reported results

  • Cohort of 443 patients (BI-RADS 4, 5 and selected 3) over a 12-month period at Hanoi Medical University Hospital.
  • 136 negative cases; 292 patients with unilateral lesions of which 138 were malignant; 15 bilateral cases of which 3 were malignant.
  • Inter-rater agreement ICC 0.718 to 0.780 (p < 0.001).
  • The AI independently identified 97% of positive patients correctly.
  • The AI classified 21% of patients who underwent biopsy as low risk.
04 / WHY IT MATTERS

Relevance

The 97% figure and the 21% figure have to be read together. Reporting only the first would be the kind of selective quotation that makes clinical AI claims untrustworthy.

05 / LIMITATION

What it does not show

Retrospective, single-centre, enriched cohort published as a conference e-poster. An enriched cohort inflates prevalence relative to a screening population, so these numbers do not transfer directly to screening.

06 / REFERENCE

Citation

A. Bhandary Panambur, A. Hoang Dinh, L. Chung, L. T. Le, A. Maier, A. Rodriguez Ruiz, M. Andrews, B. Schmitt, S. Bayer. AI-Assisted Detection of Malignant Breast Cancer in High Breast Density Cohorts: A Retrospective Comparative Study. ECR 2025, EPOS C-21046. doi:10.26044/ecr2025/C-21046

View original abstract

Retrospective comparative study of AI-assisted malignant breast cancer detection in a cohort enriched for high breast density, using biopsy-confirmed outcomes, inter-reader BI-RADS agreement, and commercial AI risk classification at Hanoi Medical University Hospital.