Artificial intelligence in mammography: a systematic review of the external validation - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

Abstract

Objective

To conduct a systematic review of external validation studies on the use of different Artificial Intelligence algorithms in breast cancer screening with mammography.

Data source

Our systematic review was conducted and reported following the PRISMA statement, using the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases with the search terms “Artificial Intelligence,” “Mammography,” and their respective MeSH terms. We filtered publications from the past ten years (2014 – 2024) and in English.

Study selection

A total of 1,878 articles were found in the databases used in the research. After removing duplicates (373) and excluding those that did not address our PICO question (1,475), 30 studies were included in this work.

Data collection

The data from the studies were collected independently by five authors, and it was subsequently synthesized based on sample data, location, year, and their main results in terms of AUC, sensitivity, and specificity.

Data synthesis

It was demonstrated that the Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) and sensitivity were similar to those of radiologists when using independent Artificial Intelligence. When used in conjunction with radiologists, statistically higher accuracy in mammogram evaluation was reported compared to the assessment by radiologists alone.

Conclusion

AI algorithms have emerged as a means to complement and enhance the performance and accuracy of radiologists. They also assist less experienced professionals in detecting possible lesions. Furthermore, this tool can be used to complement and improve the analyses conducted by medical professionals.