Artificial intelligence and machine learning show promise in cancer diagnosis and treatment

Artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning (DL), and machine learning (ML) have transformed many industries and areas of science. Now, these tools are being applied to address the challenges of cancer biomarker discovery, where the analysis of vast amounts of imaging and molecular data is beyond the ability of traditional statistical analyses and tools. In a special issue of Cancer Biomarkers, researchers propose various approaches and explore some of the unique challenges of using AI, DL, and ML to improve the accuracy and predictive power of biomarkers for cancer and other diseases. "The biomarker field is blessed with a plethora of imaging and molecular-based data, and at the same time, plagued with so much data that no one individual can comprehend it all," explained Guest Editor Karin Rodland, Ph.D., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland; and Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, U.S.. "AI offers a solution to that problem, and it has the potential to uncover novel interactions that more accurately reflect the biology of cancer and other diseases." Promising applications of AI, DL, and ML presented in this issue include identifying early-stage cancers, inferring the site of the specific cancer, aiding in the assignment of appropriate therapeutic options for each patient, characterizing the tumor microenvironment, and predicting the response to immunotherapy.