Artificial intelligence (AI) is detecting tumors more often and earlier in an experimental Dutch breast cancer screening program, according to researchers from Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands.1
Previously published research had already shown that AI detects breast cancer on mammograms more frequently than and this most recent research suggests that AI can also replace a second radiologist in the Dutch breast cancer screening program.
Breast radiologist Ritse Mann of Radboud and other researchers analyzed 42,000 breast scans. These mammograms were taken as part of the Dutch screening program in the Utrecht region. Traditionally, 2 radiologists review these scans, as is standard practice in breast cancer screening. In this study, the researchers also evaluated the scans using AI developed by ScreenPoint Medical. Additionally, they followed the women whose scans were analyzed for nearly four and a half years, with multiple scans available for many of them.
The study researchers concluded that 1 radiologist working with AI detects more tumors than 2 radiologists. They also noted that tumors were identified earlier when AI is involved.
“Sometimes the AI detects a tumor that the radiologists don’t yet recognize as such. We call this a false positive. But often that tumor appears in a later scan after all. Therefore, the AI was right earlier,” PhD candidate Suzanne van Winkel explained in a release about the findings.2 “By the time the radiologist raises the alarm, it often concerns larger invasive tumors, which definitely need treatment, as early as possible.”
In Sweden, AI is already being used to analyze screening mammograms. The current study shows that AI is also good enough in the Dutch setting to replace the second radiologist in screening scan analysis, presenting a potential cost savings. Yet AI is not currently being used in the Netherlands.
“In Sweden, screening is organized regionally, while in the Netherlands it's organized nationally. That makes implementing AI more logistically challenging here,” Mann explained in the statement. “The IT infrastructure in the Netherlands is not yet ready. That requires funding.”
References
- Van Winkel SL, Peters J, Janssen, et al. AI as an independent second reader in detection of clinically relevant breast cancers within a population-bae screening programme in the Netherlands. Lancet Digital Health. 2025;Volume 0, Issue 0, 100882
- Radboud UMC. AI also assesses Dutch mammograms better than radiologist. August 14, 2025. Accessed August 14, 2025. www.radboudumc.nl/en/news-items/2025/ai-also-assesses-dutch-mammograms-better-than-radiologists