Could AI tools for breast cancer worsen disparities? Patchy public data in FDA filings fuel concern
The great hope of artificial intelligence in breast cancer is that it can distinguish harmless lesions from those likely to become malignant. By scanning millions of pixels, AI promises to help physicians find an answer for every patient far sooner, offering them freedom from anxiety or a better chance against a deadly disease.
But the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to grant clearances to these products without requiring them to publicly disclose how extensively their tools have been tested on people of color threatens to worsen already gaping disparities in outcomes within breast cancer, a disease which is 46% more likely to be fatal for Black women.
