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Warwick Medical School shares in £10 million project to identify individual cancer risk

Data

Doctors could soon be able to predict your individual chances of getting cancer and offer personalised detection and prevention, thanks to a new research project involving Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick.

Cancer Research UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) have announced £10 million to create the Cancer Data-Driven Detection programme.

The programme aims to access and link data from different sources - including health records, genomics, family history, demographics, and behavioural data - to develop advanced statistical models that help scientists accurately predict who is most likely to get cancer. Alongside this, the programme will develop powerful new tools which use AI to analyse the data and calculate an individual’s risk of cancer throughout their lifetime.

Over the next five years, the funding will build the infrastructure required to access and link these datasets, train new data scientists, create the algorithms behind the risk models and evaluate the algorithms and AI tools to ensure that they are giving accurate and clinically useful information about cancer risk. The scientific programme will be guided by partnerships with cancer patients, the public, clinical experts and industry, while addressing ethical and legal considerations to ensure that the models and tools work well in practice.

The models generated from this research could be used to help people at higher risk of cancer in different ways. For example, the NHS could offer more frequent cancer screening sessions or screening at a younger age to those at higher risk, whilst those at lower risk could be spared unnecessary tests. People identified as higher risk could also be sent for cancer testing faster when they go to their GP with possible cancer signs or symptoms. Individuals at higher risk could also access different ways to prevent cancer.

Director of the Cancer Data Driven Detection programme and Professor of Cancer Risk Prediction at the University of Cambridge, Professor Antonis Antoniou, said:

“Finding people at the highest risk of developing cancer, including those with vague symptoms, is a major challenge. The UK’s strengths in population-scale data resources, combined with advanced analytical tools like AI, offer tremendous opportunities to link disparate datasets and uncover clues that could lead to earlier detection, diagnosis, and prevention of more cancers.

“The Cancer Data Driven Detection programme will build the partnerships and infrastructure needed to make data-driven cancer early detection, diagnosis and prevention a routine part of frontline healthcare. Ultimately, it could inform public health policy and empower individuals and their healthcare providers to make shared decisions. By understanding individual cancer risks, people can take proactive steps to stop cancer before it gets worse or even begins in the first place.”

Head of Prevention and Early Detection Research at Cancer Research UK, Dr David Crosby, said:

“The single most important thing we can do to beat cancer is to find it earlier, when treatment is more likely to be successful. With half a million cancer cases per year expected in the UK by 2040, we need a major shift towards more accurate diagnosis and detection of early cancer.

The Cancer Data Driven Detection programme will link health data sources together and build the powerful new tools doctors need to identify those at highest risk of cancer and prioritise resources towards them.

“Moving towards a preventative approach to healthcare will not be easy and will take time. Cancer Research UK’s investment in the programme is an investment in the future of cancer care.”

Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) said:

"Detecting and diagnosing cancer earlier is key to improved survival and quality of life for patients. By leveraging AI to enable healthcare professionals to identify people at a greater risk of cancer, this initiative could improve the way patients are screened and diagnosed. This programme's AI-driven insights could lead to more effective treatment and improved survival, helping patients to live longer, healthier lives."

Executive Director of Research at EPSRC, Jane Nicholson, said:

“Earlier detection of cancer can provide a wider range of treatment options and save lives. This programme, leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and datasets, could revolutionise early detection and intervention.

“By working with a wide range of stakeholders, including cancer patients, the models and tools developed through the programme could equip individuals with the crucial knowledge about their potential for developing cancer.”

Professor Sophie Staniszewska, Warwick Medical School, said:

Warwick is very pleased to be part of this flagship programme focused on early cancer detection. In collaboration with Dr Steph Archer at Cambridge, we will lead the Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Theme, ensuring that cancer patients are at the heart of the creation of new tools using AI and the development of analytics to advance cancer detection.”

The Cancer Data Driven Detection programme is jointly supported by Cancer Research UK, the National Institute for Health & Care Research, the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council, Health Data Research UK, and Administrative Data Research UK.