Researchers at Hannover Medical School (MHH) have made significant progress in personalized medicine with a new AI tool called clinALL. This tool combines genetic and clinical data on an easy-to-use platform to help doctors diagnose and treat paediatric leukaemia.
Leukaemia, a type of cancer, is influenced by genetic changes that affect prognosis and treatment. The clinALL tool, developed by Professor Dr. Anke K. Bergmann and her team, aims to revolutionize diagnosis and treatment for children with leukaemia. This project is part of the international Leibniz Future Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The Challenge: Handling Complex Data
The study involved 1,365 patients with blood cancer, mainly paediatric leukaemia. These patients underwent genetic tests, which produced large and complex data sets. The clinALL tool uses AI to integrate this genomic and clinical data into a simple interface, making it easier for doctors to use in routine diagnostics and to gain insights into blood and lymphatic diseases.
New Findings for Patient Care
Professor Bergmann’s team found that clinALL helped identify 78% of patients who could not be diagnosed with traditional methods. The tool also discovered patterns indicating which patients might relapse after treatment, making diagnosis and therapy more precise. Despite the study’s small size, clinALL provided valuable findings that are already improving patient care at MHH.
Potential Benefits for Developing Countries
Dr. Michelle Tang highlighted that clinALL could also benefit small laboratories in developing countries by integrating clinical data with affordable genetic tests. This could improve local decision-making and timely, relevant findings, advancing personalized medicine for children with leukaemia.
Study Collaboration and Publication
The study involved targeted RNA sequencing of blood cancers, primarily in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), in collaboration with various study groups and medical centers. The findings were published in the journal “eBioMedicine – THE LANCET Discovery Science.”
At the Comprehensive Cancer Centre of MHH, scientists from different fields work together to research cancer and develop new treatment approaches, applying their expertise to translate basic research findings into clinical practice.
Source: mhh
