Docs wait for USA's AI use in cancer treatment outcome

Indian doctors seem hopeful about Donald Trump's $500 billion AI infrastructure project to cure cancer but are also doubtful whether it can outperform all existing treatment methods and offer a superior and affordable alternative.

- AISHANI CHAKRABORTY

KOLKATA:

In India, where the disease's burden is still a major public health problem, questions of sustainability are also being raised considering the time and money involved in such treatment. According to Dr Prasenjit Chatterjee, Radiation Oncologist at Manipal Hospital: "AI has kept the boarding train at the right time to reach the destination. AI is the first to revolutionise the Indian healthcare market in various ways. It can help develop personalised medicine and early diagnosis, boost telemedicine and remote patient monitoring and more concerning clinical decision support. AI can power the predictive and molecular analytics of telemedicine and personalised medicine to identify individuals highly prone to this disease." As per medical sources, even though AI-powered technologies have demonstrated promise in improving the precision and effectiveness of cancer diagnosis, therapy and prognosis, Indian physicians remain sceptical about the precision and viability of using AI to treat cancer on a wide scale. Dr Chatterjee added: "While AI is undoubtedly an excellent player, it may not be a good master in terms of healthcare. Since ethical food habits, dietary patterns and other factors vary greatly in India, data validation and standardisation are crucial. The type of cancer people in a given location may develop can differ from that of people in other locations. It is difficult to use mathematics and algorithms to determine the current diagnosis and treatment results."