Artificial intelligence (AI) is being utilised as a tool in the detection, prevention, and treatment of cancer. While some AI chief executives have made bold claims about AI curing cancer within five to ten years or in our lifetimes, clinicians and researchers highlight the deliberate, considered progress of science.
AI is currently being applied to drug development and treatment plans. In some clinical settings, it is used to study lung imagery for early signs of malignancy and to assist in removing brain tumours. The technology is also seen as a way to improve efficiency and offer more personalised care, potentially freeing up time for medical professionals.
Sherene Loi, a medical oncologist specialising in breast cancer treatment, expressed doubt that AI alone would find a cure for all cancer or medical illness in the next decade, stating that human disease is very complex. However, Loi and other cancer experts anticipate that AI will bring efficiencies to treatment, diagnostics, and pathology services, leading to more personalised and equitable cancer care.
Ajit Goenka, a radiologist and nuclear medicine specialist, noted that medical imaging particularly benefits from AI advancements. Machine-learning models, trained on large datasets of patient scans, can detect changes or patterns that might be imperceptible to the human eye. Goenka's research, published in 2022, demonstrated that machine-learning tools could detect pancreatic tumours earlier than clinical diagnosis, even in pancreases that appeared normal on previous scans.
Felix Sahm, a neuropathologist, leads EUcanAI, a European collaboration using agentic AI to enhance brain tumour and central nervous system cancer treatment. The initiative aims to make each step of the patient's journey more efficient, quicker, and less cumbersome by having information from previous stages inform subsequent ones.