A 60-year-old man in Hanoi came to Hospital 19-8 (Ministry of Public Security) because of abdominal pain and occasional bloody stools. He had a gastric and colorectal endoscopy performed by the doctor, with the assistance of Dr AI technology (artificial intelligence) at the Department of Gastroenterology.
The AI "read" the patient's lesion as a neoplasm. The doctor removed the 20mm lesion right during the endoscopy procedure. Pathological results after resection were consistent with the initial diagnosis: the patient had a ductal adenoma with high-grade dysplasia, pre-colorectal cancer.
This is one of the patients who early detected colorectal polyps in difficult-to-see locations and had them treated immediately during endoscopy. Doctor Nguyen Viet Dung, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology at 19-8 Hospital, discussed with press on the sidelines of a scientific conference on applying AI in diagnosing gastrointestinal diseases organized by this hospital on September 20.
On average, every day, the Gastroenterology Department of 19-8 Hospital performs gastric and colorectal endoscopy for nearly 120 cases. Each month, the facility performs colorectal polyp removal for more than 200 cases, equivalent to 7 cases per day.
According to doctors, more than 95% of colon cancer cases start from polyps. Therefore, early detection and timely treatment of polyps with endoscopic mucosal resection or submucosal dissection help patients avoid surgery and prevent the risk of polyps progressing to cancer.
Dr. Dung said that endoscopy is currently the "gold standard" for diagnosing gastrointestinal diseases. In colorectal polyp screening, AI is like a "third eye" that helps doctors avoid missing lesions. At the same time, AI also helps doctors read and classify patients' injuries.
According to doctors, in digestive endoscopy, images are very important. With small lesions and difficult locations, if observed with the naked eye, the doctor is at risk of missing them. Thanks to the support of AI that integrates real-life endoscopic video imaging experience, doctors are greatly "assisted" in detecting small lesions or in difficult-to-observe locations. Thereby reducing diagnosis time and predicting patient damage.
When there is a suspected lesion, AI helps identify, mark and localize, display images, suggest analysis, help doctors focus attention on the lesion detected by AI and make judgments and assessments. To solve.
In particular, according to Dr. Dung, gastroenterologists in Vietnam are under great work pressure, performing dozens of endoscopy cases every day. AI especially demonstrated clear, specific effectiveness for the last gastrointestinal endoscopy cases of the day. "AI is like a companion, signaling to the doctor whether a colorectal lesion is missed or not, and what the lesion is," the doctor shared. When using AI in endoscopy, the ability to detect polyps reaches over 95%.
You should have an endoscopy and gastrointestinal cancer screening after the age of 40
According to Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Thanh Tuyen, Director of 19-8 Hospital, in digestive endoscopy, AI plays an effective supporting role in improving the detection rate, avoiding missing lesions, and saving human resources. There is still a shortage of medical care. However, the final decision still belongs to the doctor. The doctor's experience and capacity are important factors.
Dr. Dung said that previous recommendations about colorectal polyps often focused on people over 50 years old. But currently, the number of cancerous lesions detected is greater in young people. The US recommends that people have endoscopy screening from 45 years of age and older, while Japan reduces the age from 45 to 40 years old.
The doctor shared that this facility once received a 23-year-old female patient who discovered cancer right after giving birth. For younger patients, the level of malignancy is higher. This has a lot to do with genetic factors.
"We recommend that people with first-degree blood relationships such as parents, siblings, and people with polyps or colorectal cancer should be screened by endoscopy," Dr. Dung noted.
If a lesion is detected under 20mm and assessed as non-malignant, doctors will remove the polyp during endoscopy. With larger lesions, the doctor will consider whether to remove them immediately, or evaluate further by staining and biopsying the polyp to see if it has invaded the submucosa layer, and from there, a decision will be made. damage treatment.
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