The subject was treatment of prostate cancer by the common drug bicalutamide ("Casodex"). Treatment outcomes were predicted two years in advance, based on data collected at the start of treatment in 3653 patients. While the research was focused on prostate cancer, the techniques are generally applicable.
"What we have been able to achieve using Artificial Intelligence is almost like magic," says Dr Felix Beacher, Founder of Cool Clinical. "Responses to drugs vary greatly. But by predicting treatment outcomes, we could select the right drug for a particular patient. This could dramatically improve the safety and effectiveness of drugs, even without making any changes to them. This is the essence of precision medicine."
"Some have suggested that this kind of approach could be a threat to drug companies. I don't think that's true. Companies who embrace this kind of innovation have a great opportunity. Such AI-based approaches are the future. Nothing can change that. These kinds of approaches will sharpen competition and drive innovation in medicine. That's entirely a positive thing, because ultimately it will benefit patients."
The research has just been published in the journal Algorithms, 5 May 2021.
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4893/14/5/147 (early access version)
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4893/14/5/147/pdf (full pdf)
About CoolClinical.com
Cool Clinical is a consortium of clinical and computational scientists, dedicated to developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches to cancer. To learn more, please visit www.coolclinical.com.