Last December, the Amurga Foundation awarded the Research Prize to Dr. Pedro Lara for his project: “Artificial Intelligence in the Dosage of Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer”.
This project aims to improve the adequacy of the chemotherapy dose that each breast cancer patient receives, through the study of their body composition. “The calculation of the chemotherapy dose is carried out in a standard way based on weight and height, but the body composition of each person is not taken into account. It has been observed that overweight patients suffer more toxicities from chemotherapy” confirms Dr. Lara.
This project aims to analyze the toxicities observed in breast cancer patients treated at the Canary Islands Comprehensive Cancer Center , in relation to body composition estimated by Artificial Intelligence (FocusedOn). This AI system, developed by the Canary Islands-based start-up Artis Development , allows for the estimation of the quality and quantity of a patient's muscle mass, fat percentage, and other relevant parameters using a single CT scan. "The advantage is that the process is carried out automatically by an AI system that, without human intervention, produces a list of analyzable data on each person's body composition." This will allow researchers to discern which of the patients' body characteristics is most important in relation to the observed toxicity.
The ultimate goal is to improve treatment tolerance without sacrificing efficacy. “We aim to develop new formulas for calculating chemotherapy doses for patients in a more individualized way, potentially reducing toxicity.” “Artificial intelligence systems, also known as Deep Learning, will allow us to find, after studying thousands of variables, the ideal formulation for calculating chemotherapy doses in a completely individualized manner.”
This project involves 23 researchers from the Canary Islands Comprehensive Cancer Center (Centro Oncológico Integral Canario) at San Roque University Hospitals , the Fernando Pessoa University of the Canary Islands, and the Canary Islands-based startup Artis Development , which developed the FocusedOn Artificial Intelligence system . The Spanish Association Against Cancer and the Canary Islands Association for Breast and Gynecological Cancer are also collaborating . The researchers include oncologists, cardiologists, neurologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers, and engineers specializing in Artificial Intelligence. The project will run for the next two years.
