A new AI model predicts breast cancer years in advance

A team of researchers has developed AsymMirai, an AI model that uses mammograms to predict breast cancer risk over the next 5 years

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A study published recently in Radiology could represent a turning point in the prevention of cancer: a team of researchers has created an artificial intelligence model able to predict years in advance the risk of developing tumors in the breast. How? All it takes is a mammogram. And no, this is not science fiction; it’s a new way to defend against one of the most feared diseases among women.

The American Cancer Society estimates that one in eight women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer, and one in thirty-nine will die from this disease. Mammograms now are the most common tool used for early diagnosis-a powerful tool that can make a real difference. But accurately predicting who will get the disease remains a daunting task. Mammograms are taken, data is recorded, numbers are crunched, and often, no concrete answer emerges.

A new algorithm is developed

Mirai was an algorithm that, some time ago, seemed to hold the key to solve all our problems: a deep learning software capable of predicting the risk of breast cancer with almost clairvoyant precision. And yet, there was a problem: it was extremely complex. In other words, Mirai was a brilliant but so opaque system that nobody really knew how it reached its conclusions.

And that is where Jon Donnelly enters, the protagonist of this story. Along with his colleagues at Duke University, he developed AsymMirai-an AI model seemingly designed to clear the opacity of Mirai. The idea? Incredibly simple, at least on paper: compare the difference in disparity between left and right breasts. It’s something that, actually, Mirai had in mind, but AsymMirai will give a completely different dimension since it will be able not only to detect cancer but to predict it—a small revolution.

To validate this newfound understanding, over 210,000 mammograms from nearly 82,000 patients were put to review. What did the results show? AsymMirai kept pace with Mirai; the added benefit here was that this new model is not only accurate but also interpretable-meaning we know why it comes up with its conclusions.

It all boils down to the differences on both sides of the breast-these could hold the key to predicting risk. And that’s not all: SymMirai will in the future be able to personalize screening frequency and bring us closer to true personalization of prevention.

Source: Radiology

In Barra de Santiago the local population is fighting to save one of the few remaining mangrove forests, lost to agriculture and urban expansion

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Barra de Santiago, along the Pacific coastline of El Salvador, has boasted a wide mangrove forest area. This international wetland importance area has been a vital source for the local communities over the past decades, wherein the mangrove ecosystem plays an important role in securing the livelihoods of the inhabitants.

Traditionally, coastal communities in Barra de Santiago depend on mangrove resources for their livelihood through wood, fishing, and two kinds of crabs of commercial value: the blue crab, Cardisoma crassum, and the mangrove crab, Ucides occidentalis. However, the degradation of the manglaves in El Salvador, estimated at over 50% by the Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, seriously threatens these populations. It is brought about by different climatic changes apart from over-exploitation of the resources found in these ecosystems.

Importance of mangroves globally

Mangroves are different kinds of trees and shrubs found on tropical coasts in immense numbers around the world, giving life to a wide array of biodiversity. They provide nurseries for fish and homes for a variety of mammals, such as tigers, African wild dogs, and sloths. They also provide a number of key services to people, such as reducing the risk of coastal disasters, storing and sequestering carbon, and maintaining healthy fisheries. Losses are thus catastrophic for both nature and people around the world.

But this vital Central American natural resource is threatened by the climate crisis, rapid urbanization, cattle grazing, widespread deforestation for the sugar cane industry, and increased demand for wood in the country.

Decades of degradation

Since 1950, El Salvador has lost more than 60% of its mangrove forests. In 1982, an earthquake and a tropical storm hitting the coastal region partially destroyed the mangroves in Barra de Santiago, accelerating environmental devastation. Today, the climate crisis is again the number one threat to the mangrove forest, with stronger storms cutting the trees to the ground and rising temperatures putting this home of marine life in peril.

“We have been doing monthly monitoring of water physical and chemical parameters, and during the last four years, we have noticed an imminent increase in the water temperature — even as high as 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) — during the dry season while the rainy season continues with stronger storms that add to the rise in the mortality of species,” says Marcela Díaz, a biologist who works in protected areas for the Salvadoran Ecological Unit and at Barra de Santiago.

As long as development goes along with destruction, through building hotels and houses, nothing is very optimistic,” points out Díaz, referring to the works on the mangrove side, driven by a local economy that has reordered itself under the tourism industry to bear the people.

Because since 2022, it has been part of a “restoration project” by UNESCO; this project will invest, through 2025, in the restoration and conservation of mangroves in Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panamá, and Perú. It aims to give training and education for the empowerment of local communities-in particular, to the young-to raise awareness of the environmental importance of this ecosystem.

However, degraded mangrove forests in El Salvador can be restored, although the local population has little hope for their recovery.

“With new real estate developments and, besides authorizing new real estate developments in that area, the government is advancing with the construction of roads and tourist infrastructure around the eastern beaches of El Salvador where another large portion of its mangroves is located,” Díaz concludes. The use of pesticides and above all the sugar cane industry make it hard to believe that we could come back to a healthy forest. All our efforts will probably only delay the destruction.

A new AI model predicts breast cancer years in advance

A new algorithm is developed

Mangrove crisis: El Salvador’s fight against climate and development

Importance of mangroves globally

Decades of degradation