Improving cancer treatment through artificial intelligence

It’s called OPTIMA and this is a new project funded under the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) of the European Commission aimed at improving the treatment of three types of solid tumors, which affect the prostate, breast and lungs. The research will be led by a public-private partnership consisting of research institutions, pharmaceutical industries and universities, including UniSR, from 13 different EU countries.

OPTIMA aims to provide the cancer patient with individualized treatments and innovative therapies by trying to overcome the challenges imposed by new knowledge on cancer biology on the healthcare ecosystem, including doctors, patients, pharmaceutical industries and regulatory bodies.

Thanks to the potential of artificial intelligence, new tools will be developed in order to support the decisions of oncologists: for the first time, these tools will be created using real clinical data collected from more than 200 million people and processed with extreme attention to patient privacy, in compliance with the GDPR. During the project, artificial intelligence algorithms will also make it possible to identify and fill-in knowledge gaps in prostate, breast and lung cancer medicine and to improve guidelines for the treatment of these diseases.

"The application of Artificial Intelligence in the treatment of the most frequent solid neoplasms, including prostate cancer, can assist the physician by allowing individualized approaches with the administration of therapies based on the clinical characteristics and the needs in terms of quality of life of the single patient”

the coordinator of the UniSR team, Professor Alberto Briganti, full professor of Urology and deputy director of the Urological Research Institute (URI) of the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, states.

Dr. Giorgio Gandaglia, researcher at our University, also in the project team, continues:

"OPTIMA represents a unique opportunity for our team and will allow us to collaborate with public and private partners for the development of innovative solutions with the ultimate aim of improving the treatment and outcomes of cancer patients".