In a recent breakthrough, researchers have identified a better and more advanced way to examine cancer biopsies using artificial intelligence (AI).
A Norwegian start-up, DoMore Diagnostics, is deploying an advanced AI tool to revolutionize the way colorectal cancer is detected, saving cancer patients from unnecessary chemotherapy.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), colorectal cancer is the third most common and second most deadly cancer worldwide.
In 2022, 2.74 million new cases of colon cancer were documented in Europe, as reported by the European Commission estimates published in the European Cancer Information System (ECIS).
“With AI and big data, thousands of slides, we have super-specialized an algorithm. We are personalizing cancer treatment by harnessing the power of AI,” said Torbjørn Furuseth, CEO of Domore Diagnostics.
The technology developed by the start-up can assess tissue samples in much more detail because it has been trained on thousands of images.
According to Andreas Kleppe, research director at Oslo University Hospital Research, the AI-powered system offers greater accuracy and better judgment in detecting cancer-related risks, including the likelihood of recurrence and death.
“When we develop the AI solutions, we feed these images directly, and then the patients’ outcome several years after surgery,” Kleppe said.
“And then we show the computer the relationship between them. So we don’t rely directly on the pathologist’s evaluation, we just rely on the outcome,” he added.
Kleppe also explained, “It [the AI] picks up many of the features that pathologists also look at, but of course also combines this and looks at things that pathologists may not know.
Prognostic analysis is considered an important step after surgery to analyze the probability of recurrence in patients.
Therefore, patients resort to chemotherapy, sometimes unnecessary, to eliminate the chances but cause long-term side effects.
“Understanding exactly what represents a high risk of metastasis and a low risk is difficult for a human to assess because it is so complex,” Furuseth said.
As a result of this process, doctors gain an accurate understanding of the aggressive nature of cancer.
Currently, Domore Diagnostics’ colorectal cancer test is running in hospitals in Europe, the US, Japan and Mexico to validate prognosis.
