Systematic prioritisation of AI-detected chest X-ray abnormalities for optimised lung cancer detection
Abstract
This paper presents a reproducible, data-driven approach for prioritisation of AI-detected chest X-ray (CXR) findings to support faster lung cancer diagnosis in the NHS. The Annalise Enterprise CXR system was deployed in shadow mode across seven acute trusts in Greater Manchester. Two cohorts were used: a retrospective cancer cohort (n = 1,282) with confirmed lung cancer and visible CXR abnormalities, and a prospective cohort (n = 13,802) comprising consecutively acquired GP-referred CXRs. Prevalence ratios were calculated for 124 AI-detected abnormalities across both cohorts, and three prioritisation strategies were developed. Strategy 3, which combined prevalence analysis with expert clinical review, achieved optimal performance with a sensitivity of 95.87% and estimated specificity of 79.11%, while maintaining a negative predictive value of 99.95%, for identification of lung cancer. Findings most associated with cancer included solitary lung mass, mediastinal mass, and hilar lymphadenopathy. An Excel-based tool was developed to support rapid configuration and evaluation of categorisation. Application of this approach enabled safe deployment of AI using shadow mode to inform configuration prior to live use. This work provides a scalable model for AI implementation in radiology workflows that aligns with the National Optimal Lung Cancer Pathway and addresses real-world challenges of diagnostic capacity, safety, and reproducibility.
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