Evidence mapPaperPMID 41827668Full record

ArticleCancers2026

Classification of Pancreatic Cancer and Normal Tissue in 2D and 3D Optical Coherence Tomography Images Using Convolutional Neural Networks: A Comparative Study.

Maria Druzenko, Bastian Westerheide, Caroline Girmen, Niels König, Robert Schmitt, Svetlana Warkentin, Katharina Jöchle, Sebastian Cammann, Georg Wiltberger, Martin W von Websky and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancers, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Maria DruzenkoDepartment of General, Visceral, Pediatric and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Bastian WesterheideFraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Steinbachstraße 17, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Caroline GirmenFraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Steinbachstraße 17, 52074 Aachen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-2081-8814
Niels KönigFraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Steinbachstraße 17, 52074 Aachen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9163-8306
Robert SchmittFraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Steinbachstraße 17, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Svetlana WarkentinInstitute for Pathology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Katharina JöchleDepartment of General, Visceral, Pediatric and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Sebastian CammannDepartment of General, Visceral, Pediatric and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Georg WiltbergerDepartment of General, Visceral, Pediatric and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Martin W von WebskyDepartment of General, Visceral, Pediatric and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Thomas VogelDepartment of General, Visceral, Pediatric and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Florian W R VondranDepartment of General, Visceral, Pediatric and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Iakovos AmygdalosDepartment of General, Visceral, Pediatric and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5138-4214

Funding

RWTH Aachen University START-Program (#01/23)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivesEarly and complete (R0) surgical resection is essential for optimal outcomes in pancreatic cancer. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) combined with artificial intelligence (AI) may offer real-time intraoperative guidance, potentially reducing reliance on frozen sections. This ex vivo study evaluated convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for distinguishing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) from normal pancreatic tissue in OCT images obtained ex vivo.

methodsBetween October 2020 and April 2021, OCT scans were obtained from resected pancreatic specimens of 27 adult patients. Tumor and adjacent normal tissue were imaged using a 1310 nm OCT system, followed by histopathological confirmation. A total of 25 PDAC and 30 non-malignant scans were preprocessed and analyzed using cross-validated CNN models (ResNet50, DenseNet121, and MobileNetV2) with both 2D and 3D inputs.

resultsUsing five-fold stratified cross-validation on 9040 2D and 3000 3D samples (224 px resolution), the 3D DenseNet121 model achieved the highest performance, with an F1-score of 0.74, sensitivity of 72%, and specificity of 81%. Other architectures demonstrated comparable results.

conclusionsAI-assisted OCT can accurately differentiate PDAC from normal pancreatic tissue ex vivo, supporting its potential as a rapid intraoperative diagnostic adjunct. Further studies are warranted to assess its in vivo performance and utility in evaluating resection margins.

Indexed as

artificial intelligenceconvolutional neural networksoptical coherence tomographypancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Identifiers

PMID41827668
PMCPMC12984964

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.