A recent peer-reviewed study published in Nature Communications introduces MSIntuit™ CRC, an innovative AI-driven digital pathology diagnostic tool developed by Owkin, a French-American techbio company. This tool is designed as a pre-screening aid to enhance the accuracy of diagnosing and treating colorectal cancer, which is the third most common cancer globally and the second leading cause of cancer mortality.
The tool focuses on Microsatellite Instability (MSI), a crucial genomic biomarker in colorectal cancer, representing about 15% of the overall CRC population. MSI testing is increasingly important due to its prognostic and therapeutic significance, particularly with the recent approval of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies. MSIntuit CRC can accurately rule out nearly 50% of microsatellite stable (MSS) patients and correctly classify over 96% of MSI patients, matching the current gold standard methods.
The study’s strength lies in its blind validation on 600 consecutive CRC cases diagnosed across nine different pathology labs over two years, reducing the risk of selection bias. The validation was consistent across different pathology slide scanners, demonstrating the robustness and generalizability of the AI model for clinical settings.
Magali Svrcek, an international expert in GI pathology and co-author of the publication, highlighted the potential of this tool to impact oncologist decision-making and optimize MSI testing costs and organization in pathology labs. Meriem Sefta, Chief Diagnostic Officer at Owkin, emphasized the tool’s role in easing resource pressures and advancing precision medicine by identifying actionable biomarkers from standard clinical slides.