Clinical advantages in providing artificial intelligence-assisted prostate cancer diagnosis: A pilot study

Prostate cancer is a prevalent male malignancy, with increasing incidence rates placing significant diagnostic burdens on pathology services worldwide. Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a promising aid in enhancing diagnostic efficiency and accuracy. This study evaluates the clinical benefits of AI-assisted prostate biopsy (PB) diagnosis, with Paige Prostate tool, compared to non-AI-assisted PB diagnosis, focusing on its predictive accuracy for features in radical prostatectomy (RP) specimens. A retrospective analysis included 55 patients divided into two cohorts: one with non-AI-assisted PB diagnosis (n = 25) and another with AI-assisted PB diagnosis (n = 30). Pathological assessments recorded tumor size, Gleason score, Grade Group, and perineural invasion. The correlation between PB and RP results was analyzed, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. AI-assisted PB diagnosis showed faster reporting times by 24 hours, enhancing workflow efficiency. AI assistance improved the correlation of tumor size between PB and RP, showing a substantial agreement (R=0.646, p < 0.001) compared to non-AI (R=0.479, p = 0.015). Gleason Score concordance increased by 13 % in the AI-assisted group, achieving 73.3 % versus 60 % in the non-AI-assisted group. This small pilot study suggests that AI-assisted PB diagnosis appears to enhance efficiency and accuracy in the diagnosis of prostate cancer, a finding to be confirmed with further studies.