(ANSA) - BARI, 20 MAY - Through radiomics, a branch of artificial intelligence that reads the data contained in radiographic and ultrasound images, it is possible to analyze the sentinel node, which is immediately downstream of the breast tumor, without removing it and without biopsy, and equally understanding if there are metastases.
This is the result of the study, conducted by the IRCCS Giovanni Paolo II of Bari on 142 patients, from 2017 to 2020, published in the international journal Scientific Reports.
The 142 patients involved in the study were 'clinically negative': both the doctor's palpation and the radiological examination performed before surgery suggested that the axillary lymph nodes were neither enlarged nor inflamed.
In spite of this, in the operating room, the surgeons, in addition to the removal of the tumor, also performed, as required by the international guidelines, the removal of the sentinel lymph node for the subsequent biopsy.
"A step - explains Raffaella Massafra, medical physicist director of the institute's health physics structure - which extends the time of surgery, is expensive, invasive and only in 15% of cases reveals the presence of metastases".
Hence the need to analyze the lymph node without removing it, using clinical data of the patients and the data of the ultrasound images acquired during the diagnosis phase.
Data that the human eye cannot read but radiomics can.
Radiomics, in fact, is a branch of artificial intelligence that 'reads', through sophisticated software,
the data contained in the radiographic and ultrasound images.
And the results of the calculations and analyzes of the clinical and radiomics data proved to be reliable and accurate.
"A significant advantage also for patients - concludes Massafra - who already with ultrasound, a non-invasive, painless and now routine examination, can have important indications on the possible evolution of the disease".
(HANDLE).