Using AI to predict intestinal side effects of prostate cancer radiotherapy
Grant information
Researchers: Dr Miguel Reis Ferreira
Institution: King's College London
Grant award: £580,540
Reference: RIA22-ST2-003
What you need to know
- The researchers aim to understand if information about bacteria in the gut can help predict and prevent intestinal side effects caused by radiation treatment for prostate cancer.
- Intestinal side effects can be long-term and debilitating, affecting many men with prostate cancer.
- The researchers will use artificial intelligence (AI) and data from large patient groups to develop a model that predicts which patients are at a higher risk of side effects. They will also study how bacteria change over time and how they affect the body during treatment.
What will the researchers do?
Many people who have radiation treatment for prostate cancer suffer from intestinal problems afterward. It is hard to predict who will have these problems, and it's even harder to treat them once they happen.
Dr Ferreira and his team believe that the bacteria in our gut play a role in causing these problems. They have already done some research that shows a connection between certain types of bacteria and these side effects. They want to use this information to help doctors better understand who is at a higher risk of having intestinal problems and to find ways to prevent these problems from happening.
As part of this project, the team will use AI to predict which men might have intestinal problems after radiation treatment. They will use information about the bacteria in each man's gut, as well as other factors like the area that is treated with radiation and the dose of radiation given. They will collect data and samples from many patients in the UK and Italy to make their predictions more accurate.
They will also study how the bacteria in the gut change over time during and after radiation treatment and how these changes affect the person's health.
This grant will make it possible for us to develop new ways of predicting patients at higher risk of developing short- and long-term gastrointestinal side-effects of prostate radiotherapy so oncologists can better personalize treatment and help prostate cancer survivors live better for longer
How will this benefit men?
By the end of the project, the researchers hope to have a tool doctors can use to predict which men are more likely to have intestinal problems linked to radiotherapy.
This would mean doctors could take further steps to protect these men’s intestines during treatment – reducing the chance of them developing these often painful side-effects.
The researchers also hope to learn more about how bacteria in the gut change during and after treatment, which will help them find new ways to prevent and treat these problems.