Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41758476›Full record

ArticleJournal of cancer research and clinical oncology2026

When AI joins the table: evaluating large language model performance in soft tissue sarcoma tumor board decisions.

Reza Dehdab, Saif Afat, Fiona Mankertz, Jan Michael Brendel, Nour Maalouf, Sebastian Werner, Andreas Brendlin, Judith Herrmann, Konstantin Nikolaou, Linus D Kloker and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
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

14 authors.

Reza DehdabDepartment of Radiology, Tübingen University Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Saif AfatDepartment of Radiology, Tübingen University Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Fiona MankertzDepartment of Radiology, Tübingen University Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Jan Michael BrendelDepartment of Radiology, Tübingen University Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Nour MaaloufDepartment of Radiology, Tübingen University Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Sebastian WernerDepartment of Radiology, Tübingen University Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Andreas BrendlinDepartment of Radiology, Tübingen University Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Judith HerrmannDepartment of Radiology, Tübingen University Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Konstantin NikolaouDepartment of Radiology, Tübingen University Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Linus D KlokerDFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 'Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy' (iFIT), University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 10, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
Branko CalukovicDFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 'Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy' (iFIT), University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 10, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
Katrin BenzlerDFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 'Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy' (iFIT), University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 10, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
Lars ZenderDFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 'Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy' (iFIT), University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 10, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
Christoph K W DeinzerDFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 'Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy' (iFIT), University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 10, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. christoph.deinzer@med.uni-tuebingen.de.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesMultidisciplinary tumor boards (MDTs) are critical for the personalized management of soft tissue sarcomas (STS), but they are limited by time, costs, and resource demands. With recent advances in large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, there is growing interest in evaluating their potential role in augmenting MDT workflows. This study aimed to assess the clinical performance of ChatGPT-4o in real-world STS cases using predefined evaluation criteria, comparing its treatment suggestions with expert MDT decisions. MATERIALS AND

methodsThis retrospective study included 152 patients presented to the multidisciplinary sarcoma tumor board. ChatGPT-4o was prompted to generate guideline-based treatment recommendations based on anonymized tumor board registration letters. Outputs were scored by blinded expert reviewers using a five-domain framework: diagnostic modalities, therapeutic modalities, treatment sequencing/timing, chemotherapy regimen, and clinical contextualization. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric ANOVA with post hoc tests assessed performance, including subgroup analysis by sarcoma subtype.

resultsChatGPT-4o scores were significantly lower than the maximum achievable value of 1.0 across all five criteria (all p < 0.0001). Among individual domains, clinical contextualization significantly outperformed all other criteria in pairwise comparisons (all p < 0.05). No significant performance differences were observed across sarcoma subtypes (H = 19.74, p = 0.138).

conclusionsChatGPT-4o demonstrated substantial expert-rated performance in generating tumor board recommendations for soft tissue sarcoma cases, particularly excelling in personalized contextualization. Discrepancies in treatment sequencing and chemotherapy selection highlight the need for expert oversight. These findings support the feasibility of LLM integration into oncology workflows, warranting further refinement toward safe, supportive clinical use.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligenceSarcomaFemaleGenerative Artificial IntelligenceHumansLarge Language ModelsMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesArtificial intelligenceClinical decision supportLarge language modelsMultidisciplinary Tumor BoardsSoft tissue sarcoma

Identifiers

PMID41758476
PMCPMC12948744

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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 OpenQuestion graph.