Groundbreaking artificial intelligence could soon be used to detect prostate cancer’s deadliest cases

Artificial intelligence could soon be used to identify prostate cancer patients with the deadliest form of the disease.

Innovative computer software will allow doctors to decide which patients to give intensive and targeted treatment at an early stage to stop the spread of the disease.

The ambitious project, funded by Prostate Cancer UK, will involve studying blood samples from thousands of patients to identify genetic mutations associated with the aggressive cancer.

“With this knowledge, we will develop a model that can predict whether a man’s prostate cancer will be aggressive, based on a blood sample,” says Professor Ros Iles from the Institute of Cancer Research.

“This will help doctors overcome significant challenges and could revolutionize the way prostate cancer is diagnosed, treated and cured.”

Prostate Cancer UK is funding artificial intelligence software that will be able to identify men with the most severe forms of prostate cancer.

Some men develop aggressive prostate cancer, which can lead to death within a few years. Every year, 12,000 men die as a result.

In the UK, one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. About 55,000 men are diagnosed with this disease every year.

Many cases of the disease develop slowly. Some patients live with this disease for more than ten years without any symptoms and sometimes without the need for treatment.

However, others develop aggressive prostate cancer, which can lead to death within a few years. Every year, 12,000 men die as a result.

But doctors can’t tell which patients’ cancer will become aggressive if diagnosed early.

Now Professor Eels and her colleagues say that studying blood samples from men who have had radiotherapy will allow them to develop an artificial intelligence model that can predict which cancers in men are likely to return after treatment.

Researchers will then test the accuracy of the software before it is rolled out across the NHS.

“When a man receives the devastating – and often unexpected – news that he has prostate cancer, it is important that he is given the right cancer-specific action plan straight away,” explained Dr Matthew Hobbs, Director of Prostate Cancer Research UK .

“We’ve invested in this research so that ultimately men and their doctors have more information they need to detect and treat the deadliest cancers as quickly as possible.”