Groundbreaking research led by Professor Wei Xiang, Cisco Research Chair of AI and Director and Chief Scientist of the Australian Centre for AI in Medical Innovation, explores the transformative potential of AI in cancer immunotherapy.
This cutting-edge approach harnesses the body’s immune system to target and fight cancer cells.
Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death globally. While traditional therapies like chemotherapy and radiotherapy can be effective, they often come with high costs, variable outcomes and considerable side effects.
According to Professor Xiang, AI has the potential to overcome many of these limitations.
“Without AI, effectively integrating translational and clinical data to produce actional insights would remain an insurmountable challenge,” he says.
By analysing large, complex datasets such as genomics, imaging and clinical records, AI can detect hidden patterns, predict patient responses to treatment, and streamline the development of new drugs and personalised cancer vaccines.
“Some exciting opportunities linked to AI in cancer treatment include mRNA-based personalised vaccines and the use of quantum machine learning to accelerate drug discovery.”
However, these innovative opportunities come with their own challenges, cautions Professor Xiang.
“A critical issue is the effective use of real-world data, such as electronic health records, medical imaging and laboratory tests, unlike structured clinical trial data, is typically fragmented, unstructured and heterogeneous,” he says.
“To unlock the full potential of personalised immunotherapy, we must develop integrated systems equipped with sophisticated AI algorithms capable of managing this complexity.”
Professor Xiang also emphasises the need to build fair, transparent and trustworthy AI systems.
“Integrating AI into cancer immunotherapy raises important ethical and privacy concerns that must be proactively addressed to ensure responsible and equitable adoption.” he states.
Successfully overcoming these challenges will position AI as a powerful catalyst for breakthrough innovation in cancer immunotherapy, substantially improving patient outcomes and enhancing the overall quality of cancer care.
