An experimental AI system can predict when pancreatic cysts will become cancerous

Pancreatic cancer often kills people because they are diagnosed too late, after their tumors have spread. Other patients may die following the removal of harmless cysts that appear threatening amid a fog of imaging data and other clinical information.

But a new artificial intelligence system unveiled Wednesday by doctors at Johns Hopkins offers to provide a clearer picture for patients: In testing, it displayed a superhuman ability to differentiate harmful lesions from ones that pose no threat at all.