AI Tool PRRDetect Enhances Precision in Cancer Treatment

2025-04-18 digitalcare

United Kingdom, Friday, 18 April 2025.
PRRDetect, a new AI algorithm, identifies key tumor mutations, enhancing the effectiveness of cancer treatments like immunotherapy, by providing personalized approaches based on DNA repair dysfunction.

Breakthrough in Cancer Detection

Researchers at the University of Cambridge and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre have developed PRRDetect, analyzing the full DNA sequence of 4,775 tumors using data from Genomics England’s 100,000 Genomes Project [1][2]. This innovative algorithm functions as a ‘metal detector’ to identify tumors with DNA defects, specifically those with post-replicative repair dysfunction (PRRd) [3].

Comprehensive Analysis Across Cancer Types

The groundbreaking study, published in Nature Genetics on April 14, 2025, identified 37 distinct patterns of insertion and deletion mutations across seven cancer types, including bowel, brain, endometrial, skin, lung, bladder, and stomach cancers [1]. Of these patterns, ten were linked to known causes of cancer, eight were associated with PRRd, and nineteen represented new patterns that could indicate previously unknown cancer causes [1][3].

Implications for Immunotherapy

A significant finding reveals that tumors with PRRd show increased sensitivity to immunotherapy treatments [2]. Professor Serena Nik-Zainal, from the University of Cambridge, emphasizes that ‘genomic sequencing is now far faster and cheaper than ever before,’ suggesting that tumor sequencing could become as routine as standard medical tests [3]. This development is particularly crucial for cancers with traditionally poor survival rates, such as lung cancer and brain tumors [4].

Future Applications and Research

The research team is currently conducting clinical trials to evaluate PRRDetect’s effectiveness in predicting patient responses to immunotherapy [2]. Plans are underway to expand the genomic analysis to encompass 20 different cancer types [2]. Dr. Iain Foulkes, Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Cancer Research UK, states that ‘genomic medicine will revolutionise how we approach cancer treatment,’ with tools like PRRDetect making personalized treatment a reality for more patients [3].

Bronnen

AI in oncology tumor vulnerabilities