Sir Keir Starmer’s government to use AI on population data and medical records to flag people at risk of cancer before it develops
Britain is launching a population-wide project to use AI to identify people at high risk of getting cancer.
The Government-backed scheme will link up population data and medical records to flag those at risk and “revolutionise how the NHS diagnoses and treats patients”. At risk people could be offered regular screening tests throughout their lives or be fast tracked to specialists if they present to their GP with symptoms.
The five-year Cancer Data-Driven Detection programme will now link up health records, genomics, family history, demographics and behavioural data to train artificial intelligence models to predict who will get cancer. It comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said last week the Government would use the power of AI and big data to better prevent and treat ill health.
In a speech launching the Government’s new AI plan earlier this month, Sir Keir said: “Mark my words, Britain will be one of the great AI superpowers.”
Public Health Minister Andrew Gwynne said: “When it comes to fighting cancer, every second counts. This has the potential to help even more patients, including those with cancer, to help catch it earlier. Using the latest technology could revolutionise how the NHS diagnoses and treats patients.”
AI will crunch vast amounts of population data to learn to calculate an individual’s risk of cancer during their lifetime. Only 54.4% of cancers in England are diagnosed early at stages one and two, where treatment is more likely to be successful. NHS England has set a target to diagnose 75% of cancers at stages one and two by 2028 but is not on track to meet it.
Project director Professor Antonis Antoniou, of Cambridge University, said: “Finding people at the highest risk of developing cancer, including those with vague symptoms, is a major challenge. The UK’s strengths in population-scale data resources, combined with advanced analytical tools like AI, offer tremendous opportunities to link disparate datasets and uncover clues that could lead to earlier detection, diagnosis, and prevention of more cancers.
“The Cancer Data Driven Detection programme will build the partnerships and infrastructure needed to make data-driven cancer early detection, diagnosis and prevention a routine part of frontline healthcare. By understanding individual cancer risks, people can take proactive steps to stop cancer before it gets worse or even begins in the first place.”
The NHS could also offer individuals identified as being at higher risk of cancer to access different ways to try to prevent it. The £10 million funding for the programme has been provided by Cancer Research UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Over the next five years the funding will build the infrastructure required to access and link these datasets, train new data scientists and create the algorithms behind the risk models. The programme will then evaluate the algorithms and AI tools to ensure that they are giving accurate and clinically useful information about cancer risk. Currently privacy rules stand in the way of some datasets being used.
Setting out the case for greater use of AI earlier this month, Sir Keir Starmer said: “The blunt truth is we’ve got to be much bolder. I’ve seen this for myself – as a leader of a public service, and this is entirely human, but new technology can provoke a reaction, a sort of fear, an inhibition, a caution if you like. And because of fears of a small risk, too often you miss the massive opportunity. So we have got to change that mindset.”
Science Minister Lord Patrick Vallance, said: “There are huge opportunities in AI to improve UK healthcare. This investment in harnessing the potential of data to spot those at risk of cancer represents the sort of innovation the Government’s new AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out to realise, so this technology improves lives, while transforming public services and boosting growth.”
