China: Alibaba’s AI model detecting deadly cancers that doctors fail to spot in tests

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in hospitals to detect serious diseases earlier and more accurately. In eastern China , doctors testing a new AI tool were able to identify pancreatic cancer before symptoms appeared, offering patients a better chance of survival.

57-year-old Qiu Sijun, a retired bricklayer, went for a routine diabetes checkup. Three days later he received a call from a doctor he had never met. The doctor, the head of the hospital’s pancreatic department, asked him to return for further tests.

“I knew it couldn’t be anything good,” Qiu recalled.

The diagnosis confirmed his fears. Qiu had pancreatic cancer. However, the tumour was detected at an early stage and was successfully removed by the doctor, Zhu Kelei.

AI tool flags cancer before symptoms

The early diagnosis was made possible by a new AI-powered system the hospital was testing. The tool flagged Qiu’s routine CT scan even though he had no symptoms.

The system reflects a wider push by Chinese tech companies and hospitals to apply artificial intelligence to complex medical challenges, including cancers that are difficult to detect early.

A deadly cancer with limited screening options

Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest cancers. The five-year survival rate is around 10 per cent, largely because the disease is usually discovered late. Symptoms often appear only after the cancer has advanced.

While contrast CT scans can confirm the disease, they involve high radiation exposure. For this reason, experts discourage widespread screening. Lower-radiation scans, such as noncontrast CTs, are safer but produce less detailed images, making diagnosis difficult.

AI trained to read low-detail scans

Artificial intelligence may help bridge this gap. The tool used at Dr. Zhu’s hospital was developed by researchers linked to Chinese tech company Alibaba. It was trained to detect pancreatic cancer using noncontrast CT scans.

The system is called PANDA, short for “pancreatic cancer detection with artificial intelligence”. Doctors at the Affiliated People’s Hospital of Ningbo University began using it as part of a clinical trial in November 2024.

Since the trial began, the AI tool has analysed more than 180,000 abdominal and chest CT scans. It has helped identify about two dozen cases of pancreatic cancer. Fourteen of these were detected at an early stage, according to Dr Zhu.

The tool found 20 cases of ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common and deadliest form of pancreatic cancer. Qiu was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour, a rarer and less aggressive type.

Patients had no initial warning signs

Dr Zhu said all the patients had visited the hospital for symptoms such as bloating or nausea. None had initially consulted a pancreatic specialist. Several of their scans had not raised concern until they were flagged by the AI system.

“I think you can 100 percent say A.I. saved their lives,” he said.