Improving cancer patients’ quality of life Leveraging such emerging technologies as artificial intelligence and big data, researchers are developing new solutions for improving the quality of life and well-being of cancer patients. Health © fauzanbunz/stock.adobe.com The latest cancer statistics highlight encouraging advances in decreasing cancer-related mortality. However, given that one in two people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and due to our growing and ageing population, the total number of people living with cancer is set to keep increasing substantially in the near future. What this means is that, in addition to the current focus on treatment and survival, healthcare providers must also look at ways to improve the cancer patient’s quality of life. “Cancer patients and their families face a huge psychological and financial burden, and it’s important to take a patient-centred approach to improving their quality of life while also finding the resources needed to develop and manage such plans,” says John Avramidis, dissemination and communication specialist at UBITECH. With the support of the EU-funded ASCAPE project, UBITECH is leading an effort to develop such plans – and to do so, they’re turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and big data. Share knowledge for better decision-making Involving over 500 patients and more than 15 healthcare organisations, the project built an open-source AI infrastructure for cancer patient support. “The platform allows a healthcare organisation to collect patient-derived data, locally train algorithms with that data, and share the resulting knowledge with other organisations in the form of deep learning AI models,” explains Avramidis. “Healthcare providers can then use this information to support their decision-making and provide a better quality of life trajectory for their patients.” While the models are shared via the cloud, the system is designed to ensure patient data remains confidential. Intelligent interventions Trained with data on breast and prostate cancer, the ASCAPE solution can provide intelligent interventions for physiological and psychological support, improved patient and family counselling and guidance, early diagnosis and forecasts of ill health, identification of disease trajectories and relapse, and improved health literacy, amongst others. “Our clinical pilots showed a high level of acceptance of the proposed AI-based interventions among both patients and physicians, with relatively low rates of social discrimination concerns,” adds Avramidis. Improving the quality and speed of clinical decisions The solution also proved capable of providing significant improvements in the quality and speed of clinical decisions. “With the predictive power of the data, it is more than feasible to reduce the occurrence of health disorders and comorbidities that could affect the well-being of cancer patients,” remarks Avramidis. Take for example a prostate cancer patient participating in the project’s Athens pilot. Wearing a device to monitor their cancer, healthcare providers were able to detect an unrelated arrhythmia. Following a full diagnosis, the patient underwent heart surgery for a potentially lethal clinical condition before any symptoms developed. “This is just one example of how the benefits at the intersection of technology and healthcare can be real, prompt and often life-saving,” notes Avramidis. Using data and AI to enhance patient care Through the project’s pilot studies, oncologists, general practitioners and nursing staff had a first-hand look at how data and AI can enhance patient care. “Our work has proven that these emerging technologies make it possible not only to improve the quality of life of cancer patients, but also to implement a healthcare approach that focuses on their overall well-being,” concludes Avramidis. To further advance its technologies and solutions, researchers are currently exploring additional research projects, opportunities to cooperate with related R&D initiatives, and the creation of an open-source community. Keywords ASCAPE, cancer, cancer patients, quality of life, artificial intelligence, AI, big data, healthcare, healthcare organisation, deep learning, breast, prostate cancer, patient care, emerging technologies
