National Cancer Awareness Day 2024: The digital age is revolutionising cancer care; artificial intelligence and genomics are driving a new era in diagnoses and treatments. This year, the National Cancer Institute reported that AI systems diagnosed cancerous tumours more precisely than human radiologists; 94% was recorded.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning enable computers to promptly process vast amounts of medical data, from radiology scans to pathology reports. For instance, a study just recently found that AI algorithms can identify early-stage lung cancer from CT scans at a surprisingly high accuracy level, which lowers the level of missed diagnoses.

We speak with Dr Deepak Jha, Chief of Breast Surgery and Senior Consultant in Surgical Oncology at Artemis Hospitals, more on how these advancements help benefit patients from early-stage intervention, individualised therapies, and home-based care—a move toward improved patient outcomes and quality of life.

The models, Dr Jha says, are also being trained to predict cancer progression. “Analysing thousands of patients and the various data helps with the prediction of the nature in which a cancer type might behave under certain conditions,” he says.

Cancer patients are often burdened with multiple processes and toxic treatments that fall outside the necessity of their therapy. With advancements, this has been simplified for good. Dr Jha says that oncologists can now personalise treatment considering the possible behaviour of a specified kind of cancer.

“This is well-nigh a giant step ahead in such personalised care: it may help doctors decide on the very best intercessions for their cases without burdening the patients,” he adds.

Precision Medicine Makes Customisation Possible

Precision medicine, also known as personalised medicine or genomic medicine, has now replaced the one-size-fits-all approach to treating cancer with therapies customised to fit a patient's genetic makeup.

“With identification of the mutations driving the cancer, coupled with the advances in genetic profiling, doctors are now using precision therapies that target those mutations. In melanoma and lung cancers, targeted drugs can now induce remission in patients,” Dr Jha explains.

Fortunately, the outcome has been very good for people with aggressive or advanced cancers whose therapies matched those patients.

Telemedicine is one of the most important tools in cancer care. In the post-COVID-19 world, virtual consultations enable patients to reach oncologists from their homes and reduce the number of hospital visits by many folds. Such an option is especially valuable for people in rural or underdeveloped areas, as they would not have been able to receive special cancer care services.

“Wearable devices and mobile applications enable the continuous monitoring of cancer survivor's health status. These technologies track signs of life, which give warnings of potential relapse or complications, alerting health teams. This monitoring in real-time reduces hospital visits while ensuring timely intervention for care improvement and relief from stress on healthcare systems through service delivery without constant in-person evaluations,” Dr Jha says.

Genomics, the study of DNA, is revolutionising the treatment of cancer, with the possibility of a personal treatment. “Genetic mutations driving the disease can be targeted to develop drugs that could destroy the cancer cells. Immunotherapy, which works on engineering the body's immune system to attack the cancer cells better, has thus changed,” he adds.

Dr Jha says that CAR-T cell therapy is the latest breakthrough that has revolutionised the way blood cancers, such as leukaemia, are treated by modifying a patient's T-cells to recognise and kill cancer cells. Its use in solid tumours is now being explored.

With genomics and immunotherapy, much more targeted treatments can be applied, for example, in minimising the side effects and tailoring therapies according to the specific genetic profile of each patient to get better results.

Improving survival chances and quality of life, AI, genomics, and telemedicine together have now made cancer care more personal and accessible for millions affected by this disease.

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