Award winners
Dijon Meeting, 2026
Best Oral Presentation
"Clinical pathways in natural language for the automated assignment of topography and morphology: highlighting the importance of healthcare data sources"

Adele Zanfino - Italy
Manual coding of topography and morphology, together with the extraction of clinicopathological variables from histopathological reports (HR), is a time-consuming process in cancer registration. Machine learning (ML) can support this workflow by automating text classification and structured information extraction from routine diagnostic reports. The aims are to develop and evaluate automated models for assigning predefined categories (topography/morphology) to HR using TF-IDF (Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency) representations and ML algorithms and to extract clinicopathological variables, including TNM stage, Gleason score, differentiation grade, PGR, Ki67, ER, HER2, Breslow thickness and Clark level, using rule-based and transformer-based approaches. Methods: HR relating to non-multiple incident cases from the Milan Cancer Registry (2019–2021) were included, restricting reports to a time window of -3/+9 months from the incidence date. After text preprocessing and data cleaning, the dataset was split equally for training and validation. Classification models were developed using TF-IDF features and One-vs-Rest logistic regression. Additional variables were extracted primarily through regular expressions and linguistic patterns. For Breslow thickness and Clark level, dedicated transformer-based named entity recognition modules were introduced, fine-tuned on approximately 1,000 annotated examples per variable. Clark level extraction was implemented with a hybrid strategy combining high-precision textual patterns with transformer support for less standardised formulations. Results: The dataset comprised 45,091 HR. On the test set, the model achieved 95% accuracy for topography and 83% for 4-digit morphology. For breast, lung and prostate tumours, accuracy approached 100%. Extraction of additional clinicopathological variables showed concordance rates above 95%, while Breslow and Clark modules extended the system’s ability to capture clinically relevant melanoma-specific information from free text. Conclusions: ML applied to HR can automate l coding and support the extraction of clinicopathological variables. The integration of traditional text classification models with rule-based and transformer-based extractors can provide effective support for Cancer Registry activities.
Best Poster Presentation
Marcel Blum - Switzerland
"Automatic tumor data extraction from unstructured medical reports: application of an AI-enhanced tool in the cancer registry of Eastern Switzerland"

Population-based cancer registries are essential for cancer surveillance, but the manual coding of unstructured medical reports is time-consuming and resource-intensive. The increase of cancer cases and the number of medical reports further challenge timely and high-quality cancer registration, particularly in the context of a shortage of qualified coding personnel. Objectives: This study evaluates the real-world implementation of an AI-enhanced tool for automated tumor data extraction in a population-based cancer registry. It assesses the workflow integration and the impact on coding accuracy and overall productivity. Methods: A modular Python-based AI-enhanced tool was deployed on local infrastructure at the Cancer Registry of Eastern Switzerland to process 82,384 unstructured medical reports from over 200 reporting institutions. The tool applied fine-tuned German-language BERT models, to classify document types and extract core cancer registry variables, including ICD-10 diagnoses, ICD-O-3.2 topography and morphology, laterality, behavior, histologic grade, and incidence date. The combined output was imported in the Swiss cancer registration software NICERStat-KRG. Accuracy was assessed by qualified coding personnel. Overall productivity was compared to an equivalent period under full manual coding conditions. Results: For 10,739 reports (13%), the AI-extracted variables were in complete agreement with validated registry records, requiring no manual re-coding. The remaining reports were validated and registered by coding staff. Across core cancer registry variables, exact match rates ranged from 19% to 53%, with partial matches reaching up to 82%. The tool correctly classified 82% of previously ignored reports as non-relevant. Despite a 27% reduction in available coding staff, newly registered tumors increased by 69%, processed documents by 92%, and automatically generated follow-up questionnaires by 33%. Conclusion: A locally deployed AI-enhanced tool can substantially improve efficiency and data completeness in population-based cancer registries. While preserving human oversight, it reduces the manual coding workload, offering a practical counterbalance to a shortage of qualified personnel.