Artificial intelligence guides breast cancer care on par with doctors

An artificially intelligent computer system is making breast cancer treatment recommendations on a par with those of cancer doctors, a new study reports. The IBM computer system -- called Watson Oncology -- made treatment recommendations that jibed nine out of 10 times with those of a multidisciplinary board of doctors at a top cancer hospital in India, researchers say. In cases involving more complex cancers, however, the computer did not hit that 90 percent mark. Another version of Watson famously defeated two former winners on the game show "Jeopardy!" in 2011, winning a first-place prize of $1 million. It then spends another minute reviewing all existing medical evidence regarding their particular form of cancer, said study co-author Dr. S.P. Somashekhar, chairman of the Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Center in Bengaluru, India.