Cambridge researchers are to lead a £10million project that could result in doctors being able to predict your individual chances of getting cancer and offer personalised detection and prevention.
The UK's strengths in population-scale data resources, combined with advanced analytical tools like AI, offer tremendous opportunities to link disparate datasets and uncover clues that could lead to earlier detection, diagnosis, and prevention of more cancers
Antonis Antoniou
The Cancer Data-Driven Detection programme will be led by Antonis Antoniou, Professor of Cancer Risk Prediction at the University of Cambridge. It is funded by Cancer Research UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
The programme aims to access and link data from different sources - including health records, genomics, family history, demographics, and behavioural data - to develop statistical models that help scientists accurately predict who is most likely to get cancer. Alongside this, the programme will develop powerful new tools that use AI to analyse the data and calculate an individual's risk of cancer throughout their lifetime.
Professor Antoniou said: "Finding people at the highest risk of developing cancer, including those with vague symptoms, is a major challenge. The UK's strengths in population-scale data resources, combined with advanced analytical tools like AI, offer tremendous opportunities to link disparate datasets and uncover clues that could lead to earlier detection, diagnosis, and prevention of more cancers."
Over the next five years, the funding will build the infrastructure required to access and link these datasets, train new data scientists, create the algorithms behind the risk models and evaluate the algorithms and AI tools to ensure that they are giving accurate and clinically useful information about cancer risk. The scientific programme will be guided by partnerships with cancer patients, the public, clinical experts and industry, while addressing ethical and legal considerations to ensure that the models and tools work well in practice.
Professor Antoniou added: "Ultimately, [the Cancer Data Driven Detection programme] could inform public health policy and empower individuals and their healthcare providers to make shared decisions. By understanding individual cancer risks, people can take proactive steps to stop cancer before it gets worse or even begins in the first place."
The models generated from this research could be used to help people at higher risk of cancer in different ways. For example, the NHS could offer more frequent cancer screening sessions or screening at a younger age to those at higher risk, whilst those at lower risk could be spared unnecessary tests. People identified as higher risk could also be sent for cancer testing faster when they go to their GP with possible cancer signs or symptoms. Individuals at higher risk could also access different ways to prevent cancer.
Earlier diagnosis of cancer saves lives, yet according to analysis of NHS figures by Cancer Research UK, only 54% of cancers in England are diagnosed at stages one and two, where treatment is more likely to be successful. NHS England has set a target to diagnose 75% of cancers at stages one and two by 2028, and this will only be achieved with research and embracing new technologies to catch cancer earlier.
Last week, the Prime Minister announced backing for the power of big data and AI, which has the potential to help even more patients, including those with cancer.
Science Minister Lord Vallance said: "There are huge opportunities in AI to improve UK healthcare, from scans detecting illnesses earlier to bringing NHS waiting lists down by planning appointments more efficiently, and these will continue to develop.
"This investment in harnessing the potential of data to spot those at risk of cancer represents the sort of innovation the Government's new AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out to realise, so this technology improves lives, while transforming public services and boosting growth."
Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Andrew Gwynne said: "Using the latest technology could revolutionise how the NHS diagnoses and treats patients. As part of this government's Plan for Change, we will transform our health service from analogue to digital, and innovative projects like this show exactly how we will achieve it."
The Cancer Data Driven Detection programme is jointly supported by Cancer Research UK, the National Institute for Health & Care Research, the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council, Health Data Research UK, and Administrative Data Research UK.
Head of Prevention and Early Detection Research at Cancer Research UK, Dr David Crosby, said: "The single most important thing we can do to beat cancer is to find it earlier, when treatment is more likely to be successful. With half a million cancer cases per year expected in the UK by 2040, we need a major shift towards more accurate diagnosis and detection of early cancer."
Find out how Cambridge is Changing the Story of Cancer
Adapted from a press release from Cancer Research UK
