Why Hawaii Is An Important Spot For Cancer Research
When Hawaii comes to mind we usually associate it with exotic images of big wave surfers, sunshine and lava. They are all true, but what is missing from the picture is the AI Precision Health Institute in the University of Hawaii Cancer Center which lies at the seashore and is enjoying a breathtaking view to Kaka’ako Waterfront Park. The institute is using advanced technologies, including machine learning and deep learning to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Their research is unique because they study how cancer affects people with different ethnic, cultural and environmental characteristics.
They try to spot the reasons why some ethnic populations are more susceptible to certain cancers and how genetic susceptibility interacts with environmental factors to influence cancer risk. Since gene-environment interaction is a force in cancer development, the UH has developed state of the art laboratory facilities to measure genetic and molecular factors associated with cancer risk and tumor progression and the effects of behavioral and lifestyle interventions for cancer prevention. Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and Asians represent a very small fraction of patients enrolled in NCI-sponsored cancer clinical trials in the U.S. so data from these groups will add diversity to datasets and robustness to cancer research findings.
Many of the mammograms that they analyze will be collected from women in Hawaii using the first Hawaii and Pacific Islands Mammography RegistryPHI
One of the research topics is called ‘Three Compartment Breast Lesion Detection Study’. Dr. Shepherd, Founder and Director at AI Precision Health Institute, has accumulated 600 dual-energy full-field digital mammography studies from 600 patients across the U.S. Each study has an associated biopsy result to confirm or deny malignancy. The studies contain radiologist annotated lesions, classified into 4 sub-categories; Invasive, DCIS, Fibroadenoma, Benign. Many of the mammograms that are analyzed will be collected from women in Hawaii using the first Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands Mammography Registry.
Dr. Shepherd and his colleagues have created the first Hawaii and Pacific Islands Mammography Registry. The HIPIMR is a collaboration between the Tumor Registry, the AI-PHI, the UH Data Science Institute, and medical centers throughout Hawaii. Its mission is to provide an accurate risk of breast cancer assessment for women in Hawaii using all available breast health information including clinical risk factors, omic markers, and radio mic biomarkers. The mammography registry’s goal is to amass approximately 80% of the screening mammograms, tomosynthesis, and breast MRI images to develop the radio mic biomarkers specific to Hawaiian resident women. If successful, the study will improve the specificity of mammography and reduce the rate of unnecessary biopsies. Currently, 4 in 5 biopsies are negative.
Yiannis Mouratidis
