A new artificial intelligence tool designed to help diagnose and treat prostate cancer is set to be tested in NHS hospitals, researchers have announced. The three-year Vanguard Path study, funded by Prostate Cancer UK and led by the University of Oxford, will evaluate the ArteraAI Prostate Biopsy Assay using biopsies from more than 4,000 men.
The AI tool analyses digitised biopsy images to produce a personalised risk score. Clinical trials have shown it can identify which men with high-risk prostate cancer are most likely to benefit from the drug abiraterone. US studies also suggest it can predict benefit from hormone therapy in less aggressive cases and help identify patients who can be monitored without immediate treatment.
The £1.9 million study will first use samples from men already diagnosed and treated, with follow-up data, to validate the tool’s predictive accuracy in UK patients. It will then be tested at three NHS sites: North Bristol NHS Trust, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, as men undergo standard diagnosis and treatment.
During the trial, clinicians will receive the AI tool’s recommendation alongside standard care and be asked whether it would have influenced their treatment decision. Dr Matthew Hobbs, director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, said: 'If and when this gets implemented, you could use one tool irrespective of where you are on the aggressiveness scale, to make a very clinically and life-enhancingly important decision.'
Professor Gerhardt Attard, from University College London, noted the importance of testing in real-world NHS settings. 'When you take that to the real NHS world, there are a number of challenges and differences that would inevitably arise and that’s what this study will address,' he said. Public health minister Ashley Dalton welcomed the trial, adding: 'This groundbreaking research could be a huge step forward, demonstrating the power of technology to potentially transform lives and improve cancer outcomes.'
