Artificial intelligence assisted cytological detection for early esophageal squamous epithelial lesions by using low‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesion as diagnostic threshold

BACKGROUND: Manual cytological diagnosis for early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (early ESCC) and high‐grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN) is unsatisfactory. Herein, we have introduced an artificial intelligence (AI)‐assisted cytological diagnosis for such lesions. METHODS: Low‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesion or worse was set as the diagnostic threshold for AI‐assisted diagnosis. The performance of AI‐assisted diagnosis was evaluated and compared to that of manual diagnosis. Feasibility in large‐scale screening was also assessed. RESULTS: AI‐assisted diagnosis for abnormal cells was superior to manual reading by presenting a higher efficiency for each slide (50.9 ± 0.8 s vs 236.8 ± 3.9 s, p = 1.52 × 10(−76)) and a better interobserver agreement (93.27% [95% CI, 92.76%–93.74%] vs 65.29% [95% CI, 64.35%–66.22%], p = 1.03 × 10(−84)). AI‐assisted detection showed a higher diagnostic accuracy (96.89% [92.38%–98.57%] vs 72.54% [65.85%–78.35%], p = 1.42 × 10(−14)), sensitivity (99.35% [95.92%–99.97%] vs 68.39% [60.36%–75.48%], p = 7.11 × 10(−15)), and negative predictive value (NPV) (97.06% [82.95%–99.85%] vs 40.96% [30.46%–52.31%], p = 1.42 × 10(−14)). Specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) were not significantly differed. AI‐assisted diagnosis demonstrated a smaller proportion of participants of interest (3.73%, [79/2117] vs.12.84% [272/2117], p = 1.59 × 10(−58)), a higher consistence between cytology and endoscopy (40.51% [32/79] vs. 12.13% [33/272], p = 1.54 × 10(−)8), specificity (97.74% [96.98%–98.32%] vs 88.52% [87.05%–89.84%], p = 3.19 × 10(−58)), and PPV (40.51% [29.79%–52.15%] vs 12.13% [8.61%–16.75%], p = 1.54 × 10(−8)) in community‐based screening. Sensitivity and NPV were not significantly differed. AI‐assisted diagnosis as primary screening significantly reduced average cost for detecting positive cases. CONCLUSION: Our study provides a novel cytological method for detecting and screening early ESCC and HGIN.