arXiv:2512.00281cs.CVq-bio.NC2025-12

AI直接评估肺结节良恶性,提前一年发现早期肺癌。

Beyond Size and Growth: Rethinking Lung Cancer Screening with AI Based Nodule Detection and Diagnosis

  • 用集成模型联合检测与诊断结节,跳过传统分步流程。
  • 内部AUC达0.98,外部验证0.945,优于医生和现有标准。
  • 对小结节和慢生长结节尤其有效,可提前一年判断恶性风险。

早期恶性肺结节的检出仍受限于大小和生长速度的筛查标准,常导致诊断延迟。本文提出一个集成AI系统,在低剂量CT扫描中通过统一的CADe/CADx框架,直接在结节层面完成检测与恶性度评估。不同于将检测与诊断分离的传统流程,该方法聚焦于临床决策的关键节点——结节本身。为解决数据规模不足与可解释性问题,系统采用大型集成模型(LEM),融合浅层深度学习与基于特征的模型。在包含25,709例扫描、69,449个标注结节的数据集上训练并验证,外部独立队列验证结果显示内部AUC为0.98,外部AUC达0.945,显著优于所有基于生长、Lung RADS大小分诊、欧洲体积及VDT标准、放射科医生以及领先AI模型的表现。该模型在保持高敏感度的同时,能有效控制假阳性率,特别擅长小结节与早期癌症的识别,并使不确定或缓慢生长结节的恶性评估比放射科医生提前长达一年。此方法有望优化肺癌筛查流程,支持更早、更及时的临床决策。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Early detection of malignant lung nodules remains constrained by size and growth based screening criteria, often delaying diagnosis. We present an integrated AI system that jointly performs nodule detection and malignancy assessment directly at the nodule level from low dose CT scans, within a unified CADe/CADx framework. Unlike conventional pipelines separating detection and diagnosis, our approach targets malignant nodules directly, redefining evaluation at the point where clinical decisions are made. To address limitations in dataset scale and explainability, the system consists of a Large Ensemble Model (LEM) combining ensembles of shallow deep learning and feature based models. It was trained and evaluated on 25,709 scans with 69,449 annotated nodules, with external validation on an independent cohort. It achieved an AUC of 0.98 internally and 0.945 externally, outperforming all growth based metrics, Lung RADS size based triage, European volume and VDT based screening criteria, radiologists, and leading AI models. The model maintains high sensitivity at low false positive rates, excels for small and early stage cancers, and enables malignancy assessment up to one year earlier than radiologists for indeterminate and slow growing nodules. This approach has the potential to streamline lung cancer screening workflows and support earlier, more actionable clinical decision making.

肺癌筛查AI诊断结节检测

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