Beijing - Saba:
A Chinese research team has developed an AI tool capable of predicting the risk of liver cancer recurrence with an accuracy of 82.2 percent.
Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with a recurrence rate after surgery of up to 70 percent. Accurately predicting recurrence has been a critical challenge.
The Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday that researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China, led by Sugen Chen, have developed a scoring system called "Times," which measures the spatial distribution patterns of immune cells within the tumor microenvironment to assess the likelihood of relapse.
This system is the world's first tool for predicting liver cancer recurrence that integrates spatial immune data, according to the article.
The study, published in the journal Nature, showed that the spatial organization of immune cells, not just their quantity, determines clinical outcomes.
By combining spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, multispectral immunohistochemistry, and artificial intelligence-based spatial analysis, the team developed a new method for assessing the tumor microenvironment.
The system was trained using liver cancer tissue samples from 61 patients.
The researchers have made the TIMES system available online for free, allowing users worldwide to upload histological images for immediate risk assessment.
Sun explained that the team aims to provide a revolutionary decision-making tool to help physicians optimize individualized treatments, especially in resource-limited settings. He added that they are currently collaborating with industry partners to standardize clinical applications.
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