conference · 2025 · Published (e-poster)
AI-Assisted Detection of Malignant Breast Cancer in High Breast Density Cohorts: A Retrospective Comparative Study
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.