March 13, 2025

Dylan Nguyen

11th Grade

Fountain Valley High School

Cancer remains one of the greatest health challenges of our time, with almost two million people being diagnosed each year. Tragically, many of them do not survive; however, advancements in technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), cancer detection, treatment, and research are being revolutionized, offering new hope in the fight against the deadly disease.

One of the most effective ways of treating cancer is by preventing it. However, avoiding cancer sounds easier than it is. Traditional methods of identifying cancer risk factors rely on broad population studies and general screening guidelines, but with a wide variety, it becomes hard to recognize trends in those patients. Thankfully, one of the things AI excels at is analyzing and finding patterns in these large datasets.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, with a five-year survival rate of just 11%. Its symptoms often remain hidden until the disease has reached an advanced stage, making early detection extremely difficult. However, in a study from Harvard in 2023, researchers tested an AI to predict and find patients at risk of pancreatic cancer up to three years before the diagnosis. Another model, developed at MIT was also able to detect lung cancer, almost six years prior to a diagnosis. With models like the one developed at Harvard and MIT, we can analyze subtle patterns in patient records and identify at-risk people, allowing for earlier intervention.

In another study done at Harvard University, researchers developed an advanced generative AI model to provide doctors with an easier tool to find cancer, essentially a specialized version of ChatGPT. Trained with over fifteen million photos of cancer and another 60,000 tissue samples, the model has been trained to identify cancerous cells and accurately diagnose cancer.

Unlike traditional methods, which rely on the doctor's eye to screen for cancer, AI can analyze thousands of images in seconds, finding abnormalities that the human eye might accidentally look over.

While AI offers incredible promise, it’s not without its drawbacks. Biases in training data can lead to disparities in diagnoses and false positives. There are still challenges and errors that need to be weeded out, but as a tool to enhance a doctor's performance, the integration of AI into healthcare is inevitable. By continuing to refine this technology, we can move towards a future where cancer is no longer a death sentence, but a disease that can be managed, and maybe even cured.