Dr. Amar Rewari on NBC News Daily: How AI Is Changing Breast Cancer Detection and Treatment

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Amar Rewari joined host Kate Snow on NBC News Daily to talk about how artificial intelligence is changing breast cancer care. Dr. Rewari is Chief of Radiation Oncology at Luminis Health and an adjunct assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

About one in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, and rates are rising among younger women. Dr. Rewari started with the basics: screening. Women at average risk should begin regular mammograms around age 45. Women with higher risk factors, such as a family history, genetic mutations, or past radiation exposure, should talk with their doctors about starting earlier.

From there, the conversation turned to AI. Radiologists review a very large number of mammograms, and Dr. Rewari explained that AI works as a “second set of eyes.” It flags suspicious lumps or calcifications that might otherwise be missed. AI can also study the normal tissue and structure of the breast to estimate a woman’s future risk. That makes personalized screening possible, such as whether she should be screened every year or every two years.

Dr. Rewari also described how AI helps across the whole treatment journey:

• Pathologists use it to assess tumors.

• Surgeons use it to judge how much tissue to remove.

• Radiation oncologists use it to outline healthy tissue, so patients can start radiation treatment sooner.

He was candid about the limits. AI is only as good as the data it learns from, and many populations are underrepresented in clinical trials. That matters because Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer, so AI tools need to be trained on diverse, representative data.

His conclusion was that AI is a tool, not a replacement for doctors. With a physician in the loop, AI can help patients get better care and make sure nothing gets missed.