AI analysis could help tailor intensified treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer
A new AI-driven analysis tool called Octopath helps clinicians identify rectal cancer patients who benefit from adding irinotecan to standard chemoradiotherapy. The study found that patients with high cancer cell density saw a 50% reduction in mortality risk when treated with this combination.
Why it matters
This research demonstrates the potential for AI to personalize cancer treatment, significantly improving survival rates for specific patient subgroups.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Artificial intelligence developed by researchers at UCL has revealed a promising combination of cancer treatments that could help patients with locally advanced rectal cancer live longer.
A new study, published in eBioMedicine , shows that combining the cancer treatment irinotecan with standard chemoradiotherapy improves survival in patients with advanced rectal cancer—which has begun to spread to other nearby tissues—who have a high concentration of cancerous cells in their tumors.
The effectiveness of this combination was revealed using a specially developed AI trained by the research team to distinguish patients by their cancer cell density in tumor samples taken at the time of diagnosis.
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