Hopes AI tool could improve breast cancer treatment

Dr Christopher Talbot said the work could have a significant effect on cancer patients

Researchers are hoping a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool could help identify patients at increased risk of side effects from radiation treatment for breast cancer.

Experts at the University of Leicester are among those who are helping to develop the new tool.

They hope it will assist doctors and patients with radiation treatment options.

They added survival rates for breast cancer had risen dramatically.

However they said some patients were at risk of radiation treatment side effects, including skin ulcers and heart damage.

The researchers are hoping AI can predict where and what side effects a patient will get.

'Significant'

Dr Christopher Talbot from the university's Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, who is the science coordinator for the project, said: "The impact this could have on cancer patients is significant.

"[It would] enable them to make informed choices which will improve their quality of life after cancer treatment.

"Although radiotherapy is very good at treating tumours, we know that a minority of patients can suffer significant side effects from radiation treatment.

"AI could assist in the decision-making process and ultimately improve an individual's quality of life by predicting where and what the side effects will be, based on their genetic makeup.

"Data from existing cancer patients will be used to design and implement an AI tool that serves exactly this purpose."

The researchers are part of a team from across Europe who are developing the tool.

It will be trialled across 26 hospitals, including Leicester, over the next three years.

Dr Tim Rattay, associate professor in breast surgery at the University of Leicester, said: "It's our hope this will be a world-leading product."