# Development and Clinical Implementation of an Artificial Intelligence Tool to Predict Risk of Upgrade of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

> **NIH NIH K08** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2020 · $259,979

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 This proposal presents a five-year career development plan focused on data science and artificial
intelligence (AI) and the application of AI to improve outcomes in women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
The candidate is a Radiologist at MGH and an Assistant Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School.
The proposal builds upon the candidate’s previous research and clinical experiences in breast imaging and
also upon a strong ongoing research partnership between MGH and MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial
Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). The candidate’s long-term career goal is to become a leader in academic
breast imaging by investigating and applying AI to critical areas in breast cancer detection, diagnosis, and
treatment. The proposed research project and advanced didactic training at Harvard and MIT will position the
candidate with a unique set of knowledge and skills in data science and AI that will enable her to develop an
independent cancer research program that focuses on applications of AI to breast imaging.
 The incidence of DCIS has dramatically increased over the past 40 years, with an estimated 63,960
diagnoses in 2018. Current guidelines recommend that DCIS be treated with surgery, radiation, and endocrine
therapy, but there remains considerable controversy over whether this regimen represents overtreatment for
those women with indolent non-hazardous DCIS. Given concerns about overtreatment, there are currently
three randomized controlled trials underway to evaluate the safety and efficacy of active surveillance versus
standard treatment, and critical to the implementation of active surveillance programs is careful selection of
eligible patients. The goal of the proposed project is to develop a robust AI tool that incorporates clinical data,
mammographic imaging, and biopsy histopathology slides for pre-operatively predicting the risk of concurrent
invasive cancer in women with DCIS. The tool will be built using machine learning, deep learning, and
computer vision. Incorporation of mammographic imaging and histopathology slides into the AI tool will be
supported by the MGH & BWH Center for Clinical Data Science (CCDS) and the MGH Department of
Pathology. After development and validation of the AI tool based on a retrospective cohort of 1,400 women
diagnosed with DCIS at MGH, the tool will then be integrated into MGH’s mammography information system
and used to categorize new cases of DCIS. The specific aims are: (1) to develop a robust AI tool that predicts
the risk of upgrade of DCIS diagnosed by image-guided core needle biopsy to invasive cancer at surgery and
(2) to implement and evaluate the AI tool in clinical practice. Use of this tool could identify the subset of women
who are appropriate candidates for active surveillance, decrease the morbidity and costs of overtreatment, and
support more targeted and precise treatment options for women diagnosed with DCIS.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9974496
- **Project number:** 5K08CA241365-02
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Manisha Bahl
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $259,979
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-08 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9974496

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9974496, Development and Clinical Implementation of an Artificial Intelligence Tool to Predict Risk of Upgrade of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (5K08CA241365-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9974496. Licensed CC0.

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