Satish Viswanath, co-director of AID2B at Case Western Reserve University along with VA co-investigators, plan to use AI to develop an algorithm that analyzes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to better understand how rectal tumors respond to treatment.
The AI tool, called computational image Rectal Response Classifier (ciRRC), will assess MRI data in more detail than human evaluation alone. The hope is that the tool, once fully developed and tested, will allow doctors to offer veterans timely customized precision oncology treatment.
“Rectal cancer patients undergo a one-size-fits-all treatment protocol that almost always requires surgery, but surgery comes with inherent risks and complications, including patients having a worse quality of life,” said Eric Marderstein, co-investigator and section chief of general and colorectal surgery at the Cleveland VA Medical Center. “We urgently need better markers to assess the risk of metastasis and invasion so patients can be recommended additional therapy to maximize their chance of survival.”