What happens when you blend two artificial intelligence (AI) tools with a deep collection of clinical data and well-established research practices—a partnership that works!

This unique collaboration between NCI and Lunit (a company that develops AI-powered solutions for cancer diagnostics and therapeutics) will give researchers from both sides of this public-private partnership the opportunity to make greater inroads into personalized treatment for patients with cancer. Researchers from NCI’s Center for Cancer Research (CCR) will use these AI-driven tools to advance research into the tumor’s microenvironment, including characterizing and classifying immune cells to help drive personalized cancer treatment and care.

The AI-based tools include the following:

• Lunit SCOPE^® IO gives researchers insight into the tumor’s microenvironment using AI analysis of pathology images (i.e., hematoxylin & eosin slides) to help in identifying biomarkers, particularly for immunotherapy.
• Lunit SCOPE universal IHC lets researchers fully map pathology (i.e., immunohistochemistry) images, including detailing, quantifying, and linking biomarkers to specific locations and cell types for multiple cancer types.

Michael Pollack, Ph.D., Supervisory Technology Transfer Manager in NCI’s Technology Transfer Center, notes, “Our partnership with Lunit is an excellent example of how NCI is working to improve innovation through collaboration. Our team is continuously searching for new and more efficient ways of conducting research at NCI. In this case, NCI is able to apply cutting-edge, AI-guided approaches to our clinical trial data. The first project will involve analyzing pathology images from CCR’s Center for Immuno-Oncology’s clinical studies.”

He added, “I’d encourage other technology companies and prospective partners to visit NCI’s Technology Transfer website for more information on how you can join NCI in licensing and/or collaboration partnerships to advance today’s discoveries into tomorrow’s medical care.”

You can track the results of this partnership in the coming months, as NCI and Lunit will be disseminating their findings through publications, presentations, and reports.