Source: Global Times

[Global Times Technology Comprehensive Report] On January 2, local time, the U.S. "New York Times" published a full-page report introducing Alibaba's early pancreatic cancer screening AI model, which successfully helped doctors discover deadly tumors that might have been missed, saving the lives of several patients. The report has caused shock among American netizens: "Look, this is the correct use of emerging technology."

This is the first article about China in the "New York Times" in 2026, with the English title "In China, A.I. Is Finding Deadly Tumors That Doctors Might Miss," and the Chinese title "‘AI Saved His Life’: Chinese Doctors Use Artificial Intelligence to Identify Pancreatic Cancer." The reporter visited a hospital in Ningbo, and conducted an on-site interview with Mr. Qiu, a 57-year-old retired mason. He went to the hospital to check for diabetes, but received a call saying that the AI had found pancreatic cancer in his plain CT scan. Fortunately, his pancreatic cancer was still in the early stage, and he underwent successful surgery.

The report states that the AI model, named DAMO PANDA, was developed by researchers at Alibaba's DAMO Academy, and since November 2014, the AI has analyzed over 180,000 CT scans at this hospital in Ningbo, helping doctors detect 24 cases of pancreatic cancer, 14 of which were early-stage pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is usually discovered at an advanced stage, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10%. Zhu Kelei, the doctor who decided to deploy the PANDA model, said: "I can say with 100% certainty that it was AI that saved their lives." "They all came to the hospital with symptoms like bloating and nausea, without seeing a pancreatic specialist, and their CT scans did not show any abnormalities. Finally, it was the AI that alerted them."

Regarding the principle of this AI model, the report interviewed Zhang Ling, a senior algorithm expert at Alibaba DAMO Academy. Zhang Ling said that they registered more than 2,000 cases of pancreatic cancer enhanced CT images onto plain CT scans, enabling the AI to identify pancreatic cancer even on low-resolution plain CT scans. According to a paper they published in the journal "Nature Medicine," the AI can accurately identify 93% of pancreatic cancer patients.

The report has sparked heated discussions among American netizens, with hundreds of comments on the newspaper's website alone. A comment that received over a hundred likes said: "China is taking a different path with AI: solving real-world problems." Another high-rated comment said: "China once again makes the United States look pale. We use AI to replace jobs, even create virtual girlfriends. While China uses AI to detect and treat early-stage tumors."

Even some American netizens said: "Alibaba? That e-commerce company? Fighting against pancreatic cancer? Why do we hear from our tech giants about AI research on how to replace humans?"

Some American citizens who have lost friends or family to pancreatic cancer expressed sincere hopes to use this Chinese AI and encouraged Chinese AI researchers: "This research can bring peace of mind to many people," "Please continue this research."

This report also triggered discussions on the X platform (formerly Twitter). Eric Topol, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and a renowned doctor, praised the study, which had already been sufficiently validated before its implementation, and carefully listed the data from the paper.

It is also reported that Alibaba's DAMO Academy is collaborating with multiple medical institutions for pilot research projects. In addition to the People's Hospital of Ningbo University mentioned in the report, these include the Shanghai Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Jiaxing Second Hospital, as well as dozens of community hospitals locally. (Bo Chan)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7592156653094322703/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.