A team of researchers in Manchester has received a £5.9 million grant from Cancer Research UK to advance cancer treatment through artificial intelligence (AI)-driven simulations of clinical trials. Led by the University of Manchester and The Christie cancer hospital, the project aims to test the effectiveness of radiotherapy treatments on virtual patients, using real-life data to create these simulations.
Professor Rob Bristow, the lead researcher, emphasized that these simulated trials would make research "faster, safe and less expensive" compared to traditional large-scale clinical studies. The AI program creates groups of virtual patients based on real-world data, allowing researchers to test treatments and devices in a simulated environment.
The Manchester team's work will focus on investigating patient-specific genetics and tumors. A key aspect of the research involves comparing a new form of proton beam therapy with standard radiotherapy for lung cancer patients. Cancer Research UK designated Manchester as one of seven centers of excellence in a UK-wide network to accelerate advances in radiotherapy research.
Radiotherapy, which uses X-ray radiation to kill cancer cells by irreversibly damaging their DNA, has been a focus of research at The Christie hospital and Cancer Research UK since the 1920s. Approximately 44,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year in the north-west of England, according to Cancer Research UK data. Martin Storey, a lung cancer survivor who received radiotherapy in a clinical trial, expressed his support for the funding, stating, "I think artificial intelligence is the future and if more can be done with virtual trials to improve the effectiveness of clinical trials, then it will help more patients, and more people will be able to survive their cancer like I did."
