In the realm of precision medicine, data-sharing collaborations can reduce burdens on the healthcare system by streamlining diagnosis and matching patients to the treatments they need more quickly. Data-sharing can turn information into definitive actions.

The Swedish Cancer Institute and precision medicine company GNS Healthcare have launched a machine learning collaboration designed, they said, to strengthen, accelerate and potentially expand the delivery of precision medicine in breast cancer care.

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“Few oncologists today have the complete training or time necessary to decipher complex results of a tumor’s biologic fingerprint,” said Thomas Brown, MD, executive director of the Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle. “GNS’s Reverse Engineering and Forward Simulation causal machine learning platform-generated models will streamline this process and enhance our Personalized Medicine Research Program precision medicine initiative’s work to support providers and their patients with treatment recommendations.”

This collaboration is intended to facilitate the practice of personalized, precision medicine at the Swedish Cancer Institute, increasing access of this important resource to the institute’s patients while allowing doctors to remain patient-focused, Brown said.

“This project has the potential to optimize the use of genomic information in the care of our breast cancer patients, to include through our Swedish Cancer Institute Molecular Tumor Board,” explained Henry Kaplan, MD, head of breast medical oncology and principal investigator of the Breast Cancer Research Registry.

By automating the process of connecting cancer patients with their most effective treatment, the Swedish Cancer Institute/GNS Healthcare collaboration has the potential to demonstrate a framework for scaling precision medicine initiatives. The approach could make it possible to generate the data needed by healthcare payers to prove the value of precision medicine, an outcome that would bring clarity to reimbursement decisions and expand access to life-saving treatments and better outcomes for patients, GNS said.

This kind of work brings the practice of precision medicine within reach for more providers and makes its promise a reality for a greater number of patients, their caregivers and families, GNS added. In addition, this newly launched collaboration sets the stage for a more expansive program capable of making discoveries that can deliver value for a range of healthcare stakeholders in the future, GNS said.

Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT
Email the writer: bill.siwicki@himssmedia.com