PIVOT can predict cancer-causing genes in a person, essentially helping diagnose the disease and determine most suitable treatment combination.
A remarkable invention by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is set to pave the way for personalised cancer treatment strategies. The tool, based on Artificial Intelligence, has been named PIVOT. It can predict cancer-causing genes in a person, essentially helping diagnose the disease.
What is PIVOT? How does it predict cancer?
The tool is designed to predict genes that cause cancer. It does this with the help of a model which uses data on mutations, gene expression and copy number variation in genes and perturbations in the biological network because of an altered gene expression.
The AI prediction models built by researchers are for three different types of cancer – lung adenocarcinoma, breast invasive carcinoma and colon adenocarcinoma.
Dr Karthik Raman, Core Member, RBCDSAI, IIT Madras, said in a statement, "Cancer, being a complex disease, cannot be dealt with in a one-treatment-fits-all fashion. As cancer treatment increasingly shifts towards personalised medicine, such models that build toward pinpointing differences between patients can be very useful.”
The tool is based on a machine learning model. It classifies tumour suppressor genes, oncogenes or neutral genes. It has been described in peer-reviewed journal Frontier in Genetics.
How will it help advance cancer treatment?
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and accounted for nearly one in six deaths in 2020, as per the World Health Organization. The uncontrolled growth of cells occurs due to mutations in oncogenes or due to tumour suppressor genes, or both. Not every mutation, however, necessarily results in cancer.
While the cancer treatments in use currently are known to have detrimental effects on the patient’s overall health, such knowledge that the tool could provide will help in more personalised treatment. With such tools, doctors will be able to know about the genes responsible for the initiation and progression of cancer, thereby being able to determine the most suitable combination of drugs and therapy for a specific patient.
"The research area of precision medicine is still at a nascent stage. PIVOT helps push these boundaries and presents prospects for experimental research based on the genes identified," said Malvika Sudhakar, Research Scholar, IIT Madras.
The plan is to extend the PIVOT’s model to include information on more types of cancer. Work is also ongoing to help identify drugs for patients based on individual suitability and cancer profile.
READ | UK: Indian-origin woman becomes cancer-free after experimental drug trial
(With inputs from IANS)
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