AI has already shown great potential in a variety of fields, from automating mundane tasks to predicting natural disasters. Now, researchers are exploring how AI can be used to diagnose and treat different types of cancers.
According to a news report from Scripps News, AI has the capability of detecting and treating different types of cancers. Researchers from the University of Toronto and Insilico Medicine used an AI database called AlphaFold to develop a medicine that could treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, in just 30 days.
The study, which was published in the journal Chemical Science, showed that the AI system discovered the previously unexplored paths to develop a cancer medicine to treat HCC and developed a novel hit molecule that could bind the target.
In the second round, they discovered an even more powerful hit molecule, however, the researchers maintained that the drug still needs to undergo clinical testing before it can be launched to treat cancer in hospitals.
The AI-powered AlphaFold has broken new scientific ground in predicting the structure of human proteins, said Feng Ren, the study’s co-author. “At Insilico Medicine, we saw that as an incredible opportunity to take these structures and apply them to our end-to-end AI platform in order to generate novel therapeutics to tackle diseases with high unmet needs. This paper is an important first step in that direction,” he added.
In another study published in the journal JAMA Network Open, experts from the BC Cancer and University of British Columbia showed how accurately AI predicted the survivor rates of patients with cancers. It analysed the survival rates of more than 47,000 patients from six months to three and five years.
Dr John-Jose Nunez, lead author of the research study said in a statement that “the AI essentially reads the consultation document similar to how a human would read it. These documents have many details like the age of the patient, the type of cancer, underlying health conditions, past substance use, and family histories. The AI brings all of this together to paint a more complete picture of patient outcomes,” he underscored.
While researchers are currently at the nascent stage of exploring the full potential of AI in healthcare and the treatment and diagnosis of diseases, the studies suggest that it can potentially be promising.
“Our hope is that a tool like this could be used to personalize and optimize the care a patient receives right away, giving them the best outcome possible,” Nunez said.
Overall, these studies show that AI has the potential to revolutionize the field of healthcare, particularly in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases like cancer. With continued research and development, AI could become an essential tool for personalized and effective medical treatment.