On March 2, 2020 Proscia, a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) enabled digital pathology solutions, and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) reported that they have partnered to introduce artificial intelligence into the practice of pathology (Press release, Proscia, MAR 2, 2020, View Source [SID1234555077]). Beginning with prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the U.S., the collaboration will validate the clinical efficacy of computational pathology applications for several high-impact pathology subspecialties.
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The standard of care for diagnosing cancer relies on the pathologist’s assessment of tissue biopsies viewed under a microscope. This 150-year-old manual and subjective practice cannot keep pace with the rising cancer burden amid a decreasing pathologist workforce. Prostate cancer diagnosis is especially problematic given its high slide-per-case volume, complex reporting requirements, and qualitative grading system, often leading to delayed turnaround times, increased use of ancillary tests, and reduced confidence in treatment decisions.
Proscia and UCSF are collaborating on the validation of computational pathology applications that drive much-needed quality and efficiency gains for clinical laboratories using digital pathology. As one of the earliest adopters of digital pathology for primary diagnosis, UCSF has amassed volumes of diverse, high-quality digitized data. This data is initially being used to ensure that Proscia’s computational pathology application for prostate cancer accurately accounts for the variability that exists across a wide range of diagnoses, methods of biopsy and tissue preparation, tissue staining procedures, and digital scanning processes.
"As prostate cancer impacts millions of patients each year, it is critical that we improve productivity and confidence in this high-impact specialty," said Mike Bonham, Proscia’s Chief Medical Officer. "Through our partnership with UCSF, an institution that achieves the highest standards in patient care, research, and education, we are gaining the data and experience required to ensure that our AI delivers meaningful benefits in practice, where so many other solutions have struggled to perform."
Beyond their initial work in prostate cancer, Proscia and UCSF will expand their focus to accelerate the introduction of similar solutions that advance the practice of pathology for subspecialty-specific processes making up the majority of pathology cases. As digital pathology continues to gain traction, these deep learning-enabled applications will drive its adoption by unlocking new diagnostic information that furthers discovery and improves patient outcomes.
"UCSF prides itself as being an institution in the intersection of research and clinical practice of medicine, continuously working to translate new findings into more effective prevention, diagnosis, and treatment," said Zoltan Laszik, Professor of Pathology at UCSF. "Proscia’s focus on delivering practical AI solutions strongly aligns with our efforts, and we are pleased to work together to improve the routine pathology workflow."
This partnership adds to the growing list of leading academic and commercial labs with which Proscia is working to bring computational pathology applications to market. In December 2019, the company announced a data collaboration with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Last week, Proscia released the results of the largest AI validation study in pathology, conducted in collaboration with Dermatopathology Laboratory of Central States, University of Florida, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, in support of the June 2019 release of its DermAI application for dermatopathology.