Manchester scientists develop ai trial to help people survive cancer

Manchester scientists and clinicians have been awarded a major cash boost to fund pioneering radiotherapy research which uses artificial intelligence to help save lives.

Cancer Research UK is investing a total of £5.9 million to develop new radiotherapy technologies and techniques over the next five years. In close collaboration with The Christie, the funding will support University of Manchester researchers to discover ways to improve radiotherapy treatments with the use of virtual clinical trials.

A virtual clinical trial is a computer simulation used to predict how medical treatments might work. It creates “virtual” groups of patients based on real-life data and tests how different treatments or devices would perform. These simulations let researchers explore questions and test ideas at a faster rate than traditional clinical trials and without the need to involve real patients.

The grant, awarded this month, is the second wave of investment into the multimillion-pound Cancer Research UK RadNet radiotherapy research programme which saw Manchester chosen as one of just seven centres of excellence in a UK-wide network that will accelerate advances in radiotherapy research.

Professor Rob Bristow, Director of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre and Chief Academic Officer at The Christie, is lead researcher for the project. He said: “We are very proud that Manchester has been awarded this grant to continue our work on bringing the next generation of precision radiotherapy treatments to patients sooner. The funding supports basic and discovery science to develop new approaches using state of the art radiotherapy technologies to help more people survive cancer, with fewer side effects and a better quality of life after treatment.

Our work will investigate patient-specific genetics and the microenvironment of the tumour and apply this knowledge to the latest technologies in tandem with other therapies, including immunotherapy.

Importantly, we will also be delving further into the use of artificial intelligence in radiotherapy trials. Virtual clinical trials are a new and exciting way to preview and test out new ideas using computerised simulation and improve the results of clinical trials. They help reduce the risk associated with investing in large-scale clinical studies by allowing a better tailoring of trials to patients which makes the research trial process faster, safer and less expensive, and less burdensome on our patients.

“All of this is only possible with the world leading infrastructure and expertise we have built here in Manchester.”

One project will focus on the use of virtual trials to compare a form of pioneering proton beam therapy to standard radiotherapy using photons for lung cancer treatment.

Martin Storey, 70, from Wythenshawe knows all too well why radiotherapy research is so important. In 2009 he was diagnosed with lung cancer and treated with intensive radiotherapy alongside chemotherapy as part of a clinical trial.

The retired delivery driver went to see his GP after work one day when he was worried about being off his food. Countless tests found nothing of concern but eventually a scan on his lungs discovered a mass.

Now after 15 years in remission, Martin, who is married to Julie, 69, is delighted that funding is being awarded by Cancer Research UK into the development of advanced radiotherapy techniques, which he says helped to save his life.

The great-grandad who also has two children and six grandchildren said: “I feel blessed every day. Not everyone survives lung cancer, and I was one of the lucky ones to be able to go on a trial. Now thanks to research I’ve lived to be a great grandad. I think artificial intelligence is the future and if more can be done with virtual trials to improve the effectiveness of clinical trials, then it will help more patients, and more people will be able to survive their cancer like I did.”

Cancer Research UK and the Christie supported some of the earliest research into the treatment of cancer with radiation and pioneered the first use of radiotherapy in the 1920s. In its simplest form, this treatment works by blasting tumours with x-ray radiation, killing cancer cells by irreversibly damaging their DNA. Today, over 130,000 patients are treated with radiotherapy on the NHS every year.

Cancer is the number one cause of death in the UK*, and in the North West, around 44,100 people are diagnosed with the disease every year.**

In the 1970s, 1 in 4 people in the UK survived cancer for 10 years or more. But today, thanks to progress in research, it’s 2 in 4.***

Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Cancer Research UK, Dr Iain Foulkes said: “Cancer Research UK, and its predecessors, have been at the forefront of radiation research for the past 120 years. Thanks to research, radiotherapy treatment is becoming kinder, more precise and less intensive across different cancers. 

“This funding marks a new phase of our RadNet network, advancing research which will further accelerate improvements in radiotherapy treatment in the clinic. This funding will work alongside our investments in pioneering radiotherapy clinical trials to ensure more people can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.”