Can AI tell if you have cancer?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
If only cancer came with warning labels! Even for doctors, tumors can be misleading, like with Merkel cell carcinoma – a skin cancer. What about letting A-I take a look?
Enter DeepMerkel, developed by Tom Andrew and team at Newcastle University. This AI tool analyzes BOTH tumor details AND personal factors like age, gender, income, and marital status.
These factors influence how patients respond to the disease. Trained on thousands of cases, DeepMerkel can predict survival with over THIRTY percent improved accuracy. It also found links—like marriage and higher income increasing survival rate.
No warning labels, no problem! Medicine just leveled up! Hey if it’s AI, does that mean it’s free?
Reference: Andrew, T.W., Alrawi, M., Plummer, R. et al. A hybrid machine learning approach for the personalized prognostication of aggressive skin cancers. Digital Medicine, 8 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-024-01329-9