A pilot study for a non-invasive system for detection of malignancy in canine subcutaneous and cutaneous masses using machine learning

IntroductionEarly diagnosis of cancer enhances treatment planning and improves prognosis. Many masses presenting to veterinary clinics are difficult to diagnose without using invasive, time-consuming, and costly tests. Our objective was to perform a preliminary proof-of-concept for the HT Vista device, a novel artificial intelligence-based thermal imaging system, developed and designed to differentiate benign from malignant, cutaneous and subcutaneous masses in dogs.MethodsForty-five dogs with a total of 69 masses were recruited. Each mass was clipped and heated by the HT Vista device. The heat emitted by the mass and its adjacent healthy tissue was automatically recorded using a built-in thermal camera. The thermal data from both areas were subsequently analyzed using an Artificial Intelligence algorithm. Cytology and/or biopsy results were later compared to the results obtained from the HT Vista system and used to train the algorithm. Validation was done using a “Leave One Out” cross-validation to determine the algorithm's performance.ResultsThe accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the system were 90%, 93%, 88%, 83%, and 95%, respectively for all masses.ConclusionWe propose that this novel system, with further development, could be used to provide a decision-support tool enabling clinicians to differentiate between benign lesions and those requiring additional diagnostics. Our study also provides a proof-of-concept for ongoing prospective trials for cancer diagnosis using advanced thermodynamics and machine learning procedures in companion dogs

A pilot study for a non-invasive system for detection of malignancy in canine subcutaneous and cutaneous masses using machine learning

IntroductionEarly diagnosis of cancer enhances treatment planning and improves prognosis. Many masses presenting to veterinary clinics are difficult to diagnose without using invasive, time-consuming, and costly tests. Our objective was to perform a preliminary proof-of-concept for the HT Vista device, a novel artificial intelligence-based thermal imaging system, developed and designed to differentiate benign from malignant, cutaneous and subcutaneous masses in dogs.MethodsForty-five dogs with a total of 69 masses were recruited. Each mass was clipped and heated by the HT Vista device. The heat emitted by the mass and its adjacent healthy tissue was automatically recorded using a built-in thermal camera. The thermal data from both areas were subsequently analyzed using an Artificial Intelligence algorithm. Cytology and/or biopsy results were later compared to the results obtained from the HT Vista system and used to train the algorithm. Validation was done using a "Leave One Out" cross-validation to determine the algorithm's performance.ResultsThe accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the system were 90%, 93%, 88%, 83%, and 95%, respectively for all masses.ConclusionWe propose that this novel system, with further development, could be used to provide a decision-support tool enabling clinicians to differentiate between benign lesions and those requiring additional diagnostics. Our study also provides a proof-of-concept for ongoing prospective trials for cancer diagnosis using advanced thermodynamics and machine learning procedures in companion dogs

Association of cancer-related mortality, age and gonadectomy in golden retriever dogs at a veterinary academic center (1989-2016)

<div><p>Golden retriever dogs have been reported to have an increased prevalence of cancer compared to other breeds. There is also controversy over the effect spay or neuter status might have on longevity and the risk for developing cancer. The electronic medical records system at an academic center was searched for all dogs who had a necropsy exam from 1989–2016. 9,677 canine necropsy examinations were completed of which 655 were golden retrievers. Age was known for 652 with a median age of death 9.15 years. 424 of the 652 (65.0%) were determined to have died because of cancer. The median age for dying of a cause other than cancer was 6.93 years while those dying of cancer had a median age of 9.83 years (p<0.0001). There was no significant difference in the proportion of intact males and castrated males dying of cancer (p = 0.43) but a greater proportion of spayed females died of cancer compared to intact females (p = 0.001). Intact female dogs had shorter life spans than spayed female dogs (p<0.0001), but there were no differences between intact and castrated males. Intriguingly, being spayed or neutered did not affect the risk of a cancer related death but increasing age did. The most common histologic diagnosis found in golden retrievers dying of cancer was hemangiosarcoma (22.64%) followed by lymphoid neoplasia (18.40%). Overall golden retriever dogs have a substantial risk of cancer related mortality in a referral population and age appears to have a larger effect on cancer related mortality than reproductive status.</p></div

Golden retriever dogs seen and undergoing necropsy.

<p>Scatter plot showing in green circles the total number of golden retrievers per year undergoing necropsy exam and in red squares the total number of golden retrievers seen in the hospital per year. The solid line represents the percentage of golden retrievers undergoing necropsy divided by the total golden retriever animals seen that year.</p

Age by tumor histology and comparison of sex groupings.

<p>Age by tumor histology and comparison of sex groupings.</p

Age distribution of golden retriever dogs.

<p>(A) Histogram of age for all golden retriever dogs undergoing a necropsy exam with a median age of 9.15 years. (B) Histogram of ages of all golden retriever dogs undergoing a necropsy exam categorized by having a death attributable to cancer or not with a median age of death for those dogs dying of non-cancerous cause of 6.87 years and a median age of death of 9.83 years for those dogs with a cancer attributable death.</p

Age of golden retrievers broken out by sex and cause of death.

<p>Box and whisker plot showing median age, interquartile range, adjacent values and outliers of golden retriever dogs who underwent a necropsy exam and an attributable or non-attributable death from cancer categorized by sex and spay or neuter status. P values are shown for differences between cancer and non-cancer attributed deaths within each sex category and for differences between sex category within the cancer and non-cancer attributed death groups. NCAD = non-cancer attributable death, CAD = Cancer attributable death.</p