AI Radiotherapy Tool Expands Global Cancer Care Access
An international study has shown that artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to quickly produce high-quality radiotherapy plans for cervical and prostate cancer, and this could increase access to life-saving treatment, especially in low- and middle-income countries where the need is greatest.
AI Improves Cancer Radiotherapy Planning
The ARCHERY trial was a large international study that tested whether an AI tool could help doctors plan cancer radiation treatment as accurately as top cancer experts. The study was carried out by researchers from University College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. More than 1,000 patients from hospitals in India, South Africa, Jordan, and Malaysia took part.
Researchers tested an AI system called the Radiotherapy Planning Assistant, and it was created by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The AI was designed to help create radiation treatment plans for cancer patients.
Usually, this work is done manually by highly trained cancer doctors and medical physicists, which can take a lot of time and expertise. The trial checked whether the AI could produce treatment plans that matched the high international standards normally expected from expert teams.
Radiotherapy planning is not easy because it is a multi-step process. Doctors first have to outline the tumour and the nearby tissues on CT scans so that it can be identified as to where the radiation is needed and which healthy organs are to be avoided. Physicists then choose the best beam shape, size, and settings to deliver the dose. In many of the hospitals, this may take days or even weeks, and it definitely requires specialised staff.
Global ARCHERY Trial Validates AI Accuracy
The ARCHERY trial found the AI could create radiotherapy plans to a high standard in more than 95% of cervical cancer cases. For prostate cancer, it met the high standard in 85% of cases, a level that is considered suitable for routine clinical use. Results for head and neck cancers will be published later this year.
According to experts, these findings could be transformational. Cervical cancer causes a huge number of deaths worldwide, especially in poorer countries. Around 94% of cervical cancer deaths happen in low-and middle-income nations, and about 350,000 women died from the disease in 2022.
Radiotherapy, which uses radiation to kill cancer cells, is one of the main treatments that can cure cervical cancer. But many countries do not have enough access to this treatment. In low-income countries, only about 1 in 10 patients who need radiotherapy actually receive it. In middle-income countries, only around 4 in 10 get access.
One major reason for this is the shortage of trained experts, such as cancer doctors and medical physicists, who are needed to carefully plan and deliver radiation treatment safely.
Researchers that are behind this ARCHERY trial say that the AI-powered Radiotherapy Planning Assistant can reduce treatment planning time from several weeks to just over an hour. If one looks at it from a traditional point of view, then it requires hours and hours of work by specialist doctors and physicists, but the AI tool speeds up the process significantly and potentially reduces the waiting list, lowering costs and helping hospitals treat more cancer patients.
Experts See Life-Saving Potential
Professor Ajay Aggarwal said the technology could widen access to life-saving treatment, while Professor Mahesh Parmar noted that better access to radiotherapy could save more than a million lives annually.
Independent experts praised the trial for being large and conducted across multiple countries, making the findings more reliable than smaller AI studies. Professor Matthias Guckenberger said the results show AI can safely support cervical cancer treatment planning in most cases. Moreover, the researchers even stressed that AI is designed to assist clinicians and healthcare professionals and not replace them.
