Doctors can now tell if immunotherapy will work in a cancer patient with a simple blood test. This is possible thanks to Scorpio, a new artificial intelligence system successfully tested on almost 10,000 patients with various types of cancer.
Called Scorpio, the artificial intelligence-based system can predict whether a patient will respond positively to immunotherapy using just regular blood tests, according to results published in Nature Medicine.
The new tool, created by specialists at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Tisch Cancer Institute, is more accurate than current methods approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In addition, it is cheaper and more accessible, eliminating the need for expensive genetic tests or complex biopsies.
Immunotherapy is a very effective treatment against cancer
The researchers tested Scorpio on an impressive number of cases – almost 10,000 patients with 21 different types of cancer. The system analyzes the results of common blood tests, such as the complete blood count and metabolic profile, to determine the chances of immunotherapy success for each individual patient.
Dr. Luc Morris, one of the study’s coordinators, emphasizes the importance of this discovery: although immunotherapy is a very effective treatment against cancer, it does not work in all patients and can have severe side effects. The new tool will help doctors more accurately identify patients who will benefit most from this expensive treatment.
The team is currently working on developing an easy-to-use interface that will be available to doctors around the world and continues to test the system in various clinical contexts to optimize results.
Source: www.descopera.ro
