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World J Gastrointest Oncol. May 15, 2022; 14(5): 989-1001
Published online May 15, 2022. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v14.i5.989
Scoping out the future: The application of artificial intelligence to gastrointestinal endoscopy
Scott B Minchenberg, Trent Walradt, Jeremy R Glissen Brown
Scott B Minchenberg, Trent Walradt, Department of Internal Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02130, United States
Jeremy R Glissen Brown, Division of Gastroenterology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02130, United States
Author contributions: Minchenberg SB and Walradt T contributed equally to the work and should be listed as co-first authors; Minchenberg SB, Walradt T, and Glissen Brown JR contributed to manuscript concept and layout; Minchenberg SB and Walradt T contributed to drafting of the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors disclose no financial relationships relevant to this publication.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jeremy R Glissen Brown, MD, Academic Fellow, Division of Gastroenterology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02130, United States. jglissen@bidmc.harvard.edu
Received: February 26, 2021
Peer-review started: February 26, 2021
First decision: May 3, 2021
Revised: June 21, 2021
Accepted: April 20, 2022
Article in press: April 20, 2022
Published online: May 15, 2022
Processing time: 437 Days and 20.6 Hours
Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a quickly expanding field in gastrointestinal endoscopy. Although there are a myriad of applications of AI ranging from identification of bleeding to predicting outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, a great deal of research has focused on the identification and classification of gastrointestinal malignancies. Several of the initial randomized, prospective trials utilizing AI in clinical medicine have centered on polyp detection during screening colonoscopy. In addition to work focused on colorectal cancer, AI systems have also been applied to gastric, esophageal, pancreatic, and liver cancers. Despite promising results in initial studies, the generalizability of most of these AI systems have not yet been evaluated. In this article we review recent developments in the field of AI applied to gastrointestinal oncology.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Oncology; Gastroenterology; Endoscopy; Machine learning; Computer-assisted decision making; Computer-aided detection; Computer-aided diagnosis

Core Tip: Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have become a topic of intense investigation in clinical medicine. In gastrointestinal oncology AI has been employed in multiple areas, with notable progress seen in computer-aided detection and computer-aided diagnosis. Most efforts have focused on colorectal cancer, but AI systems have also been developed for malignancies involving the esophagus, stomach, pancreas and liver. Although studies in this field have demonstrated excellent diagnostic characteristics, many have limited external validity. This article will review the current evidence for AI technologies applied to the detection and diagnosis of gastrointestinal malignancies.