In 2024 20 million new cancer cases were diagnosed worldwide. Many of these were at advanced, lethal stages. Such cases are expected to rise by 75 percent in the next two decades, predicting cancer before it develops is a challenge beyond human capability.
To help to address this trend, medics are placing their hope in artificial intelligence. A recent survey of 2,000 people by the digital consultancy firm Customertimes found that 53 percent believe AI will cure conditions like cancer, and 2 in 3 trust it will outperform humans in diagnosing and treating these diseases.
According to Max Votek, pharmacist-turned-entrepreneur and co-founder of Customertimes, we are closer than ever to realizing this potential. With AI’s help, it’s now possible to predict cancer development up to five years in advance. Votek has outlined these reasons to Digital Journal.
Can AI find cure for cancer?
“Artificial intelligence is already proving itself in the medical field—detecting Parkison’s disease through retinal images, combining with robotics to perform surgeries with pinpoint accuracy, and predicting hospital readmission rates to ensure resources are allocated efficiently,” states Votek.
“Treatment and diagnosis is another area where AI is showing its value, acting as a co-pilot to healthcare professionals in detecting signs of cancer early, which is often vital to survivability. It’s working wonders in our hospitals—so it’s no surprise that 53% of respondents to a recent Customertimes survey expect it to find an effective cure to such critical conditions,” he adds.
As the technology improves, more advanced AI models will offer a helping hand at hospitals throughout the U.S.
The company KUNGFU.AI, for instance, has developed numerous models in the healthcare and biotechnology domain, including systems that analyze mammograms to predict breast cancer risk up to five years in advance.
The AI model can detect biological signals linked to future cancer development, even in patients considered at low risk based on their current mammograms.
It is not only prediction where AI excels, Votek claims, but various stages of cancer treatment: “There are an almost endless number of ways that AI could be used on either the predictive side or the generative side—whether it’s custom therapeutic drugs or general treatments.”
AI is revolutionizing cancer treatment by tackling one of the most complex challenges in biology: protein folding. This includes designing small proteins for T-cell cancer therapy.
Here, KUNGFU.AI organized a BioML Hackathon that drew 64 teams from 42 countries. Using open-source technologies like AlphaFold, participants created over 12,000 novel proteins, which are now being synthesized. Results are expected in early 2025.
Protein folding has always posed a seemingly insurmountable challenge in biology. Votek is optimistic: “Now we can predict protein structures with unprecedented accuracy, reducing the need for physical experiments. What once seemed impossible is now just one step in the broader process of AI-driven cancer therapies—an extraordinary leap forward in the fight against cancer.”
“With AI providing assistance, we’re likely to cure certain types of cancer within the next ten years. In fact, we already have the ability to treat some cancers with medication that blocks their access to essential chemicals they need to grow. While it may take time to eradicate cancer, I do believe we will make significant progress towards that goal, cutting time to diagnosis, reducing the effects through better treatments, and completely eliminating entire subsets,” Votek concludes.
