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News round-up (2 September)

News round-up (2 September)

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2nd September 2021 about a 5 minute read

Two major publications this week from the NHSX on implementing digital technologies and how to pay for them have drawn a lot of comment.  But to get  some appreciation of  how AI  is already changing  healthcare both in clinical research as well as practice – and benefitting patients,  read on!

 

NHS Confederation and NHS Providers warn patients in peril as NHS future funding finalised

The two organisations representing the NHS frontline – NHS Confederation and NHS Providers – warn that millions of patients risk being condemned to further pain and delays for their treatment if the government fails to recognise the full scale of the unprecedented impact covid-19 has had on the NHS.

Their stark warning comes as the Government finalises future NHS funding as part of the spending review, and accompanies a new report from the two organisations, A reckoning: the continuing cost of COVID-19, setting out the full scale of the extra running costs now needed by the NHS in England.

Their report says in the next financial year the frontline NHS will need around an extra £10 billion of revenue funding.

 

Artificial Intelligence approach helps to identify patients with heart failure who respond to beta-blocker treatment

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a new way to identify which patients with heart failure will benefit from treatment with beta-blockers.

The study involved 15,669 patients with heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (low function of the heart’s main pumping chamber), 12,823 of which were in normal heart rhythm and 2,837 of which had atrial fibrillation (AF) – a heart rhythm condition commonly associated with heart failure that leads to worse outcomes.

Published in The Lancet, the study used a series of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to deeply interrogate data from clinical trials. The research showed that the AI approach could take account of different underlying health conditions for each patient, as well as the interactions of these conditions to isolate response to beta-blocker therapy.

 

Innovative ICR-discovered drug to enter first clinical trial, targeting HSF1 pathway

 Cancer patients are set to receive, for the first time, a highly innovative investigational drug called NXP800 – which was discovered at The Institute of Cancer Research, London – in a phase I clinical trial sponsored by an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company, Nuvectis Pharma.

The investigational oral drug inhibits the so-called Heat Shock Factor-1 (HSF1) pathway, and was discovered by scientists at the Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR).

The first-in-human study is due to begin later this year.

 

New hospitals to join pioneering study to improve prostate cancer using AI

Men across England could benefit from faster diagnosis and quicker treatment of prostate cancer following the expansion of a pioneering trial of Artificial Intelligence to analyse biopsies.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. In the UK, nearly 100,000 men undergo a prostate biopsy every year – a number expected to double in the next ten years. More than 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in England every year.

The technology, which has been developed by health tech company Ibex Medical Analytics, is designed to help reduce diagnostic errors and speed up diagnosis. Clinicians in 5 hospitals in the study will compare the results of the AI analysis to current diagnosis methods, where biopsies are meticulously reviewed by a pathologist.

 

Shorter course of radiotherapy safely delivers treatment for prostate cancer

Advanced radiotherapy technology can safely deliver curative treatment for prostate cancer patients in as few as five sessions, with only minimal side effects, according to new research.

The PACE-B trial – taking place at The Institute of Cancer Research, London and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, compared the long-term bowel and bladder side effects for patients receiving stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to those receiving standard radiotherapy treatment.

Researchers found that, two years after treatment, nearly 90% of all patients on the trial experienced only minor side effects. 99% were free of severe side effects, suggesting that shortened treatment can be given without the risk of long-term higher toxicity.

 

Artificial Intelligence approach helps to identify patients with heart failure who respond to beta-blocker treatment

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a new way to identify which patients with heart failure will benefit from treatment with beta-blockers.

The study involved 15,669 patients with heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (low function of the heart’s main pumping chamber), 12,823 of which were in normal heart rhythm and 2,837 of which had atrial fibrillation (AF) – a heart rhythm condition commonly associated with heart failure that leads to worse outcomes.

Published in The Lancet, the study used a series of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to deeply interrogate data from clinical trials. The research showed that the AI approach could take account of different underlying health conditions for each patient, as well as the interactions of these conditions to isolate response to beta-blocker therapy.