Now AI will be used to help NHS doctors spot pre-cancerous growths

NHS doctors will be able to use AI tools to help them spot growths which can turn into bowel cancer after the technology was given the green light for use in the health service.

Growths in the bowel called polyps are not cancerous, but certain types of polyps can develop into cancer if they are not found and removed early. These can be spotted during a camera test to look inside the bowel, known as a colonoscopy.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has conditionally approved five new AI tools, which it said can act as a “second pair of eyes” during these examinations. Nice made the draft recommendations after reviewing evidence which suggests they can help doctors find more polyps during bowel examinations.

The AI technologies can be used in the NHS while more evidence is collected on them over the next four years, Nice said.

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Source: The Independent, 20 November 2025.