Is the use of artificial intelligence the main stage for detecting polyps during colonoscopy?

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most frequently diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In this regard, CRC screening is one of the most important issues in modern preventive medicine. Colorectal polyps are potential predictors of CRC, and therefore represent one of the leading targets for screening colonoscopy. The difficulty of analyzing the information obtained during colonoscopy, including the size, location, shape, type of polyps, the need to standardize morphological data, determines that recently a number of works have promoted the opinion on the advisability of using various artificial intelligence (AI) methods to improve the effectiveness of endoscopic screening for CRC. At the same time, they point to a number of errors and methodological problems in the use of AI systems for the diagnosis of colorectal polyps. In this regard, the interpretation of the work of Shi et al, devoted to the use of a machine learning-based predictive model for monitoring the results of colorectal polypectomy, is undoubtedly interesting. In our opinion, the prospects for using AI to assess endoscopic screening for CRC look certainly positive, but the road to its widespread use will not be easy.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Colonoscopy; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal polyps; Diagnostics.