Edinburgh University scientists use AI to refine prostate cancer care

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify negative side effects of radiotherapy in patients who have prostate cancer.  

The researchers found that daily scans taken during prostate cancer radiotherapy treatment could be repurposed to guide changes to treatment plans.  

Dr Hayley Luxton, head of research impact at Prostate Cancer UK, said: "Radiotherapy is a very common treatment used to cure prostate cancer. While very effective, the natural movement of the prostate and surrounding organs during treatment can lead to damage to the surrounding areas, causing bleeding and other side effects that can have a significant impact on men's lives."

The study suggests that by analysing these scans treatment plans can be changed to limit side effects while maintaining cancer control in patients. Scientists examined daily imaging data from 187 patients treated with prostate radiotherapy to come to this conclusion, using AI tools to identify links between radiomic features and the development of rectal bleeding.

Dr Zhuolin Yang, a research fellow from the University of Edinburgh’s Institute of Genetics and Cancer, said: “The key result here is that early treatment imaging contains quantitative information about later toxicity risk, long before symptoms occur. This supports the idea that predictive biomarkers for adaptive radiotherapy may not require new scans or technology, only better use of the data we already collect.”

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Despite its prevalence (there were more than 5,000 new cases in Scotland in 2022, roughly the same as breast cancer) there is currently no screening programme, making it the most common cancer in the UK without one.  

Public health figures show that only around 69 per cent of urgently referred patients start treatment within the treatment target of 62 days.

The study was funded jointly by Prostate Cancer UK, Movember and the Garfield Weston Foundation. The scientists say that the approach could one day be integrated into routine treatment planning and monitoring, but caution that this is likely to take many years and that the findings should be confirmed by conducting a larger study.