Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland has partnered with pharmaceutical companies Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca on artificial intelligence (AI) software targeting lung cancer.
Researchers at Case Western's Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics (CCIPD) have demonstrated that AI and machine learning can be used to predict which lung cancer patients will benefit from immunotherapy. The software analyzes CT scans from when lung cancer is first diagnosed as well as scans taken during immunotherapy treatment. The AI algorithms look at patterns from tissue biopsy images of cancer patients to identify the likelihood of a favorable response to treatment.
However, now the software needs to be validated in human clinical trials. As a precursor, the CCIPD will examine chest CT scans and/or digital pathology images from completed Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca clinical trials in which the company's specific immunotherapy drugs were tested on lung cancer patients.
Case Western's lead researcher Anant Madabhushi, PhD, is also working with long-time collaborator Dr. Vamsidhar Velcheti, director of thoracic oncology at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center on the project.
