Evaluation of a probabilistic model for staging of oesophageal carcinoma

Abstract

With the help of two experts in gastrointestinal oncology from the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoekhuis, a decision-support system is being developed for patient-specific therapy selection for oe-sophageal carcinoma. The kernel of the system is a probabilistic model describing the characteristics of oesophageal carcinoma and the patho-physiological processes of invasion and metastasis. Using data from 185 patients, an evaluation study of the model was conducted. We found that for 86% of the patients, the model established the stage of the patient's carcinoma correctly.