Nottingham company uses AI to pinpoint breast cancer risk in young women
A Nottingham firm has created an online web application that uses artificial intelligence to help women aged 20 to 53 assess their risk of developing breast cancer.
MyBOOBRisk uses AI algorithms based on Cancer Research Horizons, which is approved by Cancer Research.
It’s enhanced with new parameters and risk factors. As more women use it, the risk assessment becomes more accurate over time.
Chief executive officer at MyBOOBRisk Robert Darbyshire said: “MyBOOBRisk is a detailed questionnaire-based profiler covering topics such as general and personal information, medical conditions, family history, and genetic preconditioning, which subsequently calculates a ten-year and lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. This allows the identification of average, moderate, and high-risk women in strict adherence to the NICE guidelines. Individual BRCA1, 2 mutation carrier probabilities are also calculated to ascertain the likelihood of a gene mutation.”
In a recent test, MyBOOBRisk found six high-risk women, with an average age of 36.
When MyBOOBRisk identifies a woman as high-risk, it creates a detailed report explaining why and this report can then be shared with her GP.
According to NICE guidelines, high-risk women should be referred for further assessment, which could involve monitoring in primary care, a referral to a specialist breast cancer clinic, or genetic services at an approved lab.
Darbyshire continued: “Early diagnosis is the holy grail of breast cancer treatment. MyBOOBRisk uses clinically validated state-of-the-art statistical modelling, computational analysis, and AI, incorporating the major risk factors and additional influences that can affect a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer at an early age.
“Identifying high-risk women under the eligible age of NHS breast screening will significantly improve their chances of survival should they subsequently be diagnosed with breast cancer. We hope that MyBOOBRisk will raise awareness amongst younger women of the importance of knowing your breast cancer risk and ultimately save lives in the future.”
