Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Accurately Automate And Speed Immunofluorescence (If)-Based Discovery And Validation Of Novel Prognostic And Predictive Biomarkers In Prostate Cancer

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:IF performed on tissue microarrays (TMA) is a proven platform for both rapid and cost-effective screening and validation of biomarkers but has been limited to the arduous, sometime subjective interpretation of the visual assessment through an IF microscope. We implemented an AI model to automate the analysis of biomarkers by recognizing specific expression patterns of the markers of interest (Ki 67, Erg, PTEN, c-MYC, AR) in epithelial cells and normal stromal tissue to translate the finding into predictions of recurrence and metastasis after radical prostatectomy.METHODS:A TMA was constructed consisting of 648 samples (424 tumor and 224 normal tissue) generated from patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer at UCSF and had been previously subjected to RNA-based biomarker assessment. The TMA was subjected to IF staining using …