On November 1, 2024, researchers in the United Kingdom unveiled a groundbreaking technology designed to estimate the success of cancer therapies prior to patient testing. This innovative approach involves creating 'digital twins' of real patients diagnosed with cancer, utilizing methods previously employed by astrophysicists in black hole research.
The technology aims to conduct virtual clinical trials, allowing for the selection of the most suitable treatment for individuals in the early stages of their illness. Dr. Uzma Asghar, co-founder and scientific director of Concr, and an oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London, presented the findings at the 36th Symposium of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer in Barcelona, Spain.
Dr. Asghar explained that digital twins can represent individual patients, facilitate the construction of clinical trial cohorts, and compare treatment efficacy to predict success rates before real-world application. This concept, initially developed by NASA in the 1960s, has recently gained traction in studies involving artificial intelligence and big data.
The digital twins are generated from biological data of thousands of cancer patients treated through various methods, combined with molecular data from tumors to recreate digital representations of cancer. The researchers utilized a technology called FarrSight®-Twin, which employs algorithms to calculate the likelihood of success for potential therapies. They assessed cases of breast, pancreatic, and ovarian cancer.
Patients who received treatments recommended by the technology demonstrated a response rate of 75%, compared to 53% for those undergoing alternative methods. Dr. Asghar noted that ongoing developments aim to enhance the technology's ability to predict individual treatment responses in clinical settings, assisting physicians in determining the most effective chemotherapy options.