JERUSALEM, July 23,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hadassah Cancer Research
Institute (HCRI), a leading force in advancing cancer treatments,
unveils a significant breakthrough in personalized cancer care.
This research, published in the esteemed journal Cell Reports
Medicine (June 11, 2024), introduces
MESiCA, a novel machine learning model poised to revolutionize
cancer diagnosis and treatment.
"This publication represents a major leap forward in
personalized medicine," emphasizes Professor Michal Lotem, Head of HCRI. "MESiCA offers a
practical tool for oncologists, enabling them to make more informed
decisions, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes."
Unlocking the Potential of Mutational Signatures
Cancer development is driven by mutations in the DNA, leaving
behind unique patterns known as "mutational signatures." These
signatures act as fingerprints, revealing the underlying causes of
the cancer. Some of these fingerprints have clinical implications
for treatment plans. Traditionally, identifying these signatures
required analysing a vast amount of data, often exceeding what's
available in routine clinical settings.
"Current methods rely on targeted gene panel testing, which only
analyses a small portion of the genome," explains Professor
Aron Popovtzer, Heading the Sharett
oncology institute. "This limitation hindered our ability to detect
mutational signatures and apply this information to personalize
treatment plans."
MESiCA: A Game-Changer for Personalized Care
MESiCA tackles this challenge by harnessing the power of machine
learning and natural language processing (NLP). This innovative
model can accurately detect dominant mutational signatures using
only a small number of mutations, making it ideal for everyday
clinical use.
"MESiCA has been validated in over 60,000 cancer samples,
revealing crucial signatures linked to better survival rates and
treatment responses," highlight Dr. Adar Yaacov, the 1st
author, and Dr. Shai Rosenberg (head
of the Laboratory for Cancer Computational Biology), the principle
investigator of this project. "By enabling the detection of these
signatures in routine tests, MESiCA empowers clinicians to
prescribe more accurate personalize treatment plans, ultimately
improving patient outcomes."
This groundbreaking research by Dr. Rosenberg and Dr. Yaacov
paves the way for a new era of personalized cancer care. With
MESiCA, HCRI continues its unwavering commitment to developing
innovative solutions to combat cancer. http://www.h-cri.org
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hadassah-cancer-research-institute-hcri-announces-groundbreaking-advance-in-personalized-cancer-care-302203820.html
SOURCE The Hadassah Cancer Research Institute