New AI Tool Can Match Cancer Combination Therapies to Specific Tumor Types

A new artificial intelligence (AI) system called DrugCell, developed by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center can reportedly match tumors to the best drug combinations, in a way that has not bee possible previously. "That's because right now we can't match the right combination of drugs to the right patients in a smart way," said Trey Ideker, PhD, professor at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center. "And especially for cancer, where we can't always predict which drugs will work best given the unique, complex inner workings of a person's tumor cells." Currently, Only four percent of all cancer therapeutic drugs under development earn final approval by the FDA. In a paper "Predicting Drug Response and Synergy Using a Deep Learning Model of Human Cancer Cells" published in Cancer Cell, Ideker, Brent Kuenzi, PhD, and Jisoo Park, PhD, postdoctoral researchers in his lab, published a paper on their work.