Tech Giants Microsoft, IBM, and Google Unveil Innovative Strategies to Eradicate Cancer Within a Decade

Cancer can be described as the “Sword of Damocles” hanging over everyone’s head. How to cure cancer is currently one of the most important topics in the scientific field, attracting significant attention from many scientists. Tech giants, who have always been at the forefront of technological innovation, are no exception.

Although companies such as Microsoft, Google, and IBM have gained widespread recognition for their software, computers, and smartphones, they are now channeling resources into the silent war against cancer, employing innovative strategies in the hope of achieving a cure as soon as possible. Microsoft has even stated that its latest research approach could eradicate cancer within ten years.

Microsoft: Combating Cancer with Cell Programming

Microsoft Research Laboratory, located at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, has recruited some of the world’s leading biologists, programmers, and engineers. These 150 professionals are working on multiple projects as part of the “Biological Computing” unit, with the ultimate goal of combating cancer.

According to a recent report by the UK’s Daily Mail, scientists at the laboratory view cancer as a major bug in computer systems. They aim to develop living computers from cells within ten years, treating diseases including cancer by programming and reprogramming these cells.

Chris Bishop, the head of the laboratory, said in an interview with Fast Company magazine: “Biology and computing may seem worlds apart; but in reality, the complex processes occurring within cells are very similar to those taking place within computer systems.”

Jeannette M. Wing, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Research Labs, explained that Microsoft’s approach to tackling cancer is based on two fundamental principles: first, that cancer and other biological processes are information-processing systems—an idea currently being explored by laboratories at the University of Cambridge; and second, that researchers can apply technologies such as machine learning to biological data. Therefore, “close collaboration between biologists and computer scientists is essential.”

In 2012, researchers at Stanford University in the United States developed the first comprehensive computational model of an entire organism. This model of the bacterium *Mycoplasma genitalium*, built on data distilled from 900 scientific papers, behaved almost identically to the real bacterium. Since then, the field of computational biology has begun to flourish.

“Simulating” life enables scientists to conduct more complex experiments. Currently, Microsoft’s programming team has developed software capable of simulating the healthy behavior of a cell. Next, scientists will begin writing code to enable comparisons between healthy and diseased cells, thereby identifying the underlying problems and determining how to resolve them.

In the short term, the computational model developed by Microsoft scientists can assist pharmaceutical companies in developing new drugs. Andrew Phillips, head of the research team, stated, “In the long term, it is technically feasible to develop an intelligent molecular system capable of detecting diseases within five to ten years.”

Jasmine Fish, a senior researcher at Microsoft and an associate professor at the University of Cambridge, stated in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, “If we can control and manage cancer, it will likely become similar to a chronic disease, thereby resolving the issue. I believe that within the next decade, we will be able to completely eradicate cancer.”

IBM: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Combat Cancer

Unlike Microsoft, which views cancer cells as vulnerabilities within a computer system, IBM’s weapon against cancer is its “Watson” artificial intelligence system.

According to a recent report by The Nikkei, IBM and the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Tokyo will join forces to develop methods for using “Watson” in cancer treatment. IBM will input the latest data into “Watson,” including information on the efficacy of pharmaceuticals and academic papers from both within and outside Japan. Scientists at the Institute will input genetic data extracted from the blood and tissue samples of Japanese cancer patients. Based on this database, “Watson” can propose personalized treatment plans—such as medications with fewer side effects and greater efficacy—in as little as approximately 10 minutes.

It is reported that by employing this method, they diagnosed a 60-year-old woman with a rare form of leukemia and proposed a treatment plan to researchers, making a significant contribution to her recovery.

In fact, “Watson” has long entered the field of cancer treatment. Last May, IBM announced that 14 oncology centers in the United States and Canada would deploy the “Watson” computer system to select appropriate treatment plans based on patients’ tumor genetics.

According to MIT Technology Review, “Watson” has currently studied 600,000 medical evidence reports and the case records and clinical trial reports of 150 patients, enabling it to help physicians design more precise cancer treatment plans for their patients.

Google: Leveraging Intelligent Algorithms for Precision Cancer Treatment

Google, meanwhile, has taken a different approach by developing algorithms to combat cancer.

MIT Technology Review reported that Google’s machine learning division, DeepMind, plans to use artificial intelligence algorithms to streamline complex cancer radiotherapy protocols, aiming to shorten treatment times and thereby significantly reduce the burden on physicians and suffering for patients.

“DeepMind” will collaborate with University College London Hospitals to analyze scan images from 700 patients who have had head and neck cancer, creating an algorithm that learns how doctors make decisions during radiotherapy. The ultimate goal is to automate the “segmentation” of scans, thereby reducing the workload for physicians. “Segmentation” refers to the process in which doctors manually delineate the radiotherapy target volume when treating cancer patients, precisely identifying the areas to be irradiated to destroy tumor cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues.

However, the company clarified that the ultimate decision on whether to reduce radiotherapy procedures rests with clinicians, but they aim to shorten the “fractionation” process from four hours to approximately one hour. Furthermore, this algorithm can be applied to the treatment of other cancers.

Although the aforementioned companies employ diverse approaches, they all converge on the same ultimate goal: eradicating cancer, the “malignant tumor” in the history of human civilization.

By Liu Xia |Source | Science and Technology Daily