AI-Augmented Diagnostic Assessment With ENLIGHT Versus Independent Pathologist Review

This study aims to evaluate the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) assistance on clinicians' diagnostic performance in distinguishing lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) from lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) and kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma (KIRP) from kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) using digitized hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained whole-slide images (WSIs). ENLIGHT (Explainable Neoplasm Learning In Grounded Histology Terms) will serve as the AI system under evaluation. This is a single-session, within-reader, between-case study in which each reader evaluates distinct sets of cases under all study conditions.

The study includes three diagnostic blocks: Block X, in which WSIs are reviewed without AI assistance; Block Y1, in which clinicians make an initial diagnosis before viewing the AI output as a double-check; and Block Y2, in which the AI output is displayed before clinicians begin their review as a first-look aid. Within each AI-assisted block, the prediction-only and prediction-with-explanation sub-blocks are presented in randomized order.

Each participating pathologist will review up to 400 de-identified WSIs (up to 200 lung cancer and up to 200 kidney cancer cases). Readers will be randomly assigned to one of four study arms that differ only in the order in which Blocks X, Y1, and Y2 are completed. For each reader, distinct WSIs will be randomly assigned to the diagnostic conditions so that no WSI is reviewed more than once by the same reader.

• Arm 1 (X -> Y1 -> Y2): Clinicians first complete Block X (Unaided Review), followed by Block Y1 (AI as Double-Check) and then Block Y2 (AI as First-Look).
• Arm 2 (X -> Y2 -> Y1): Clinicians first complete Block X (Unaided Review), followed by Block Y2 (AI as First-Look) and then Block Y1 (AI as Double-Check).
• Arm 3 (Y1 -> Y2 -> X): Clinicians first complete Block Y1 (AI as Double-Check), followed by Block Y2 (AI as First-Look), and then Block X (Unaided Review).
• Arm 4 (Y2 -> Y1 -> X): Clinicians first complete Block Y2 (AI as First-Look), followed by Block Y1 (AI as Double-Check), and then Block X (Unaided Review).

For each case, diagnostic accuracy, time to diagnosis, and diagnostic confidence will be recorded. No reader will review the same WSI under more than one condition, thereby eliminating within-reader recall bias. In parallel, the ENLIGHT model will independently generate diagnostic predictions for all WSIs to enable direct benchmarking of AI performance against pathologists and to evaluate the impact of different AI-assisted workflows on diagnostic performance.

Inclusion criteria

for Pathology Slides (i.e., Cases):

• Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained pathology slides
• Final diagnosis confirmed through molecular testing in conjunction with expert pathology evaluation

Exclusion criteria

for Pathology Slides (i.e., Cases):

• Poor-quality or unreadable slides
• Cases used in AI training

Inclusion criteria

for Readers (i.e., Participants):

• Board-certified or board-eligible pathologists
• Willingness to complete both unaided and AI-assisted review sessions