In this episode of MedInsights Unleashed, Hannah Timm, a researcher at the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine in Essen, Germany, who specializes in computational pathology, discusses using AI to quantify blood vessel branching patterns in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Histopathology slides contain complex information not always captured by TNM staging, and Hannah’s team used AI to identify high- and low-branching vascular patterns. They found a continuous relationship between vessel branching and patient outcomes, with a greater proportion of high-branching patterns associated with better disease-free and overall survival.

Hannah also discusses how AI can augment—not replace—pathologists by helping quantify complex tissue patterns and potentially reveal additional biological information. The conversation explores the use of pathology slides from the CheckMate 914 trial, how AI could support future biomarker research, and the need for prospective validation before approaches such as this can move toward clinical practice.