How AI is making cancer detection easier, faster, more accurate

Aasha Kakkar (name changed) had gone for a mammography after finding a lump in her right breast a few weeks ago. The imaging showed a suspicious tumour and doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi suggested a biopsy to test for cancer cells. Meanwhile, the mammography and other test reports were put through AI software at AIIMS which predicted that her tumour was cancerous. A week later, the biopsy results confirmed it.
As India struggles with an ever-increasing cancer burden (ICMR data estimates cancer cases to rise by 13% in 2025), AI and machine learning algorithms hold the promise of reducing mortality rates by doing accurate early-stage diagnoses. “AI tools can predict cancer risk with 90% accuracy which can assist the oncologist in urgent medical intervention,” says Dr Ashok Sharma, additional professor at the AIIMS biochemistry department.