AI could spot a quarter of breast cancers doctors miss on scans

A large study using NHS breast screening data suggests that artificial intelligence could detect a quarter of breast cancers that human specialists initially miss on mammograms, a breakthrough researchers say could mark a turning point in the battle against the disease.

Scientists say the technology could also make breast screening doctors roughly twice as effective by dramatically reducing the number of scans they need to review, potentially helping address chronic staff shortages in the NHS.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, affecting about one in eight during their lifetime. Early detection is crucial: tumours found through screening are typically easier to treat, and survival rates are far higher when the disease is caught before it spreads.

The findings, published in Nature Cancer, come from a large study analysing mammograms from about 150,000 women in the NHS breast-screening programme. In the UK system, every scan is normally reviewed independently by two trained specialists, with disputed cases referred to senior clinicians for arbitration.

Researchers examined what would happen if one of the two human readers were replaced by an AI system trained to analyse mammograms for subtle signs of cancer.

One of the most striking findings was the system’s ability to identify “interval cancers” — tumours that are not detected during screening but are diagnosed later, before the next routine mammogram after three years. In retrospective analysis, the AI flagged about a quarter of these cancers on earlier scans, where they had initially been missed.

“These cancers are very subtle,” said Susan Thomas, a researcher at Google Health, who worked on the study. “If we can increase the chances of detecting them earlier, that has the potential to make a real difference for patients.”

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Times, 10 March 2026