Colorectal cancer is a prevalent global health concern, with almost two million new cases and one million deaths reported worldwide in 2020.
A crucial biomarker for this cancer type is Microsatellite Instability (MSI), affecting approximately 15% of colorectal cancer patients.
The MSI status guides treatment decisions, particularly the use of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies.
To optimize the precision of diagnosis and treatment for colorectal cancer, a team of researchers has developed an AI-driven digital pathology diagnostic tool called MSIntuit CRC.
This tool aims to streamline MSI testing, potentially reducing the need for testing all patients and improving clinical workflows.
Understanding Microsatellite Instability (MSI)
Microsatellite Instability (MSI) is a genomic biomarker in colorectal cancer, influencing both prognosis and treatment strategies.
Patients with MSI-positive tumors are more likely to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies, making accurate MSI testing crucial for guiding treatment decisions.
MSIntuit CRC is an AI diagnostic tool developed by Owkin, designed to streamline MSI testing for colorectal cancer using digital pathology.
The tool provides a pre-screening solution that can help identify MSI-positive patients more efficiently, reducing the workload on pathology labs and resources.
Study Findings
A recent study validated the effectiveness of MSIntuit CRC, demonstrating that it can accurately classify more than 96% of MSI patients.
Additionally, the tool can rule out nearly 50% of patients with microsatellite-stable (MSS) tumors.
This pre-screening capability optimizes the screening workflow and allows for faster identification of MSI-positive patients, potentially expediting their treatment.
The study’s findings have significant implications for clinical decision-making in colorectal cancer treatment. By identifying MSI-positive patients more efficiently, clinicians can initiate the appropriate treatment sooner, potentially improving patient outcomes.
This streamlined approach may also optimize costs and organizational efficiency in pathology labs, especially in countries with universal MSI screening protocols.
Benefits of AI in Biomarker Testing
MSIntuit CRC represents a step toward developing AI diagnostics that can identify actionable biomarkers from routine pathology slides used in clinical practice.
Such tools have the potential to ease resource constraints, accelerate biomarker testing, and enhance precision medicine efforts.
While the study demonstrates the potential of MSIntuit CRC, further research is needed to validate its effectiveness across different labs and geographic regions.
Researchers also plan to explore the impact of factors like the age of onset and duration of contraceptive use on MSI testing outcomes, further enhancing our understanding of biomarker testing and its role in colorectal cancer diagnosis and treatment.
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The research findings can be found in Nature Communications.
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