What Role Will Artificial Intelligence Play in Genitourinary Oncology?

In the newest episode of Oncology Decoded, hosts Manojkumar Bupathi, MD, MS, and Benjamin Garmezy, MD, spoke about the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI)–based tools and large language models (LLMs) into the study and management of genitourinary malignancies. Leveraging his background in biomedical informatics, Bupathi broke down the specific tools that can assist with documentation, digital pathology, real-time diagnostics, and other relevant clinical applications.

The conversation helped differentiate between modalities like LLMs, which assist with documentation, chart summarization, and clinical trial matching, and multimodal AI, a tool that involves combining genomics, laboratory values, and other data to generate patient-level insights. Given the growing prevalence of LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude for resolving menial tasks, Bupathi emphasized that these platforms will not replace physicians who can share human oversight and expertise with patients.

In the realm of digital pathology, the hosts discussed how AI tools like ArteraAI can help collect tumor grades and prognostic information from Hematoxylin and Eosin slides and potentially mitigate the subjectivity of Gleason scores through consistent patterns that humans may misinterpret over time. Additionally, Bupathi described how AI can remove subjectivity from imaging by generating mathematical calculations for standardized uptake value metrics on PET scans in place of visual estimation.

Regarding the future of the field, the hosts envisioned a type of AI tool that may synthesize years of patient data into a concise synopsis, which may help treat patients with complex histologies like castration-resistant disease. Overall, they predicted a shift in which specialized AI agents could communicate with one another to present synthesized data and recommendations to human clinicians.

Bupathi and Garmezy are executive cochairs of the Genitourinary Cancer Research Executive Committee at Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI). Additionally, Bupathi is the president and a medical oncologist with Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, specializing in solid tumors and genitourinary cancers. Garmezy is the associate director of genitourinary research for SCRI and a medical oncologist at SCRI Oncology Partners, specializing in genitourinary cancers.