Comparison of Large Language Models in Answering Immuno-Oncology Questions: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe capability of large language models (LLMs) to understand and generate human-readable text has prompted the investigation of their potential as educational and management tools for cancer patients and healthcare providers.Materials and MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study aimed at evaluating the ability of ChatGPT-4, ChatGPT-3.5, and Google Bard to answer questions related to four domains of immuno-oncology (Mechanisms, Indications, Toxicities, and Prognosis). We generated 60 open-ended questions (15 for each section). Questions were manually submitted to LLMs, and responses were collected on June 30th, 2023. Two reviewers evaluated the answers independently.ResultsChatGPT-4 and ChatGPT-3.5 answered all questions, whereas Google Bard answered only 53.3% (p <0.0001). The number of questions with reproducible answers was higher for ChatGPT-4 (95%) and ChatGPT3.5 (88.3%) than for Google Bard (50%) (p <0.0001). In terms of accuracy, the number of answers deemed fully correct were 75.4%, 58.5%, and 43.8% for ChatGPT-4, ChatGPT-3.5, and Google Bard, respectively (p = 0.03). Furthermore, the number of responses deemed highly relevant was 71.9%, 77.4%, and 43.8% for ChatGPT-4, ChatGPT-3.5, and Google Bard, respectively (p = 0.04). Regarding readability, the number of highly readable was higher for ChatGPT-4 and ChatGPT-3.5 (98.1%) and (100%) compared to Google Bard (87.5%) (p = 0.02).ConclusionChatGPT-4 and ChatGPT-3.5 are potentially powerful tools in immuno-oncology, whereas Google Bard demonstrated relatively poorer performance. However, the risk of inaccuracy or incompleteness in the responses was evident in all three LLMs, highlighting the importance of expert-driven verification of the outputs returned by these technologies.IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICESeveral studies have recently evaluated whether large language models may be feasible tools for providing educational and management information for cancer patients and healthcare providers. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed the ability of ChatGPT-4, ChatGPT-3.5, and Google Bard to answer questions related to immuno-oncology. ChatGPT-4 and ChatGPT-3.5 returned a higher proportion of responses, which were more accurate and comprehensive, than those returned by Google Bard, yielding highly reproducible and readable outputs. These data support ChatGPT-4 and ChatGPT-3.5 as powerful tools in providing information on immuno-oncology; however, accuracy remains a concern, with expert assessment of the output still indicated.