AI Tool For Cancer: As the cases of cancer are continuously increasing, the cure for this disease is also being searched. A new artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool is proving to be helpful in future treatments and more accurately assessing disease outcomes for patients suffering from head and neck cancer. With the help of this technology, doctors are able to better understand how effective a patient’s cancer treatment can be and what the risk will be in the future.
Let us tell you that this AI tool developed by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Mass General Brigham has been named ENE Predictor. It is specifically designed for oropharyngeal cancer, which is a cancer that occurs in the head and neck region. This tool estimates how likely the cancer is to spread beyond the lymph nodes, which is medically called extranodal extension (ENE). The number of ENE is considered very important in determining the prognosis of the patient.
According to senior author Benjamin Kahn of Mass General Brigham’s Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIM) program, the tool is capable of identifying which patients may benefit most from which treatment. He said that through this it can be decided whether a patient needs immunotherapy or additional chemotherapy or whether surgery alone will be sufficient.
Treatment of oropharyngeal cancer is often complex and challenging. This includes treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, which can have serious side effects. Problems like difficulty in swallowing, difficulty in speaking and extreme fatigue are common among these. With the help of AI tools, patients get information in advance about how aggressive treatment they require. This can avoid unnecessary treatment and its side effects and make the treatment safer.
This AI tool analyzes the images of CT Scan. The AI model estimates the number of lymph nodes with ENE based on these images. Earlier, to detect ENE, lymph nodes had to be removed through surgery and examined, but this new method is completely non-invasive, that is, it gives information without any incision. The results can be made more accurate by adding clinical risk factors such as age and tumor size.
The tool was tested on 1,733 patients, where it correctly identified those patients who were at risk of higher cancer spread and shorter survival. The study found that it was more accurate than traditional prognosis models, especially in predicting survival and disease progression.
This research has been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Experts believe that this AI tool can prove to be a new and powerful prognostic biomarker for oropharyngeal cancer, which will further improve cancer staging and treatment planning in the future.
(According to IANS)
