PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers turn to machines to identify breast cancer type

2013-12-03
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Bryan Alary
bryan.alary@ualberta.ca
780-492-0436
University of Alberta
Researchers turn to machines to identify breast cancer type (Edmonton) Researchers from the University of Alberta and Alberta Health Services have created a computer algorithm that successfully predicts whether estrogen is sending signals to cancer cells to grow into tumours in the breast. By finding this hormone receptor, known as estrogen receptor positive, physicians can prescribe anti-estrogen drug therapies, improving patient outcomes.

Since each cell in the body contains 23,000 genes, identifying the specific genes involved in cancer growth is an exceedingly complex task. Researchers used a form of artificial intelligence called machine learning to identify three genes that allowed them to determine whether a tumour was fed by estrogen.

"People can't possibly sort through all this information and find the important patterns," said senior author Russ Greiner, a professor in the Department of Computing Science and investigator with the Alberta Innovates Centre for Machine Learning. "Machines have other limitations, but what they can do is go through high-dimensional data. With our techniques, we can find combinations of biomarkers that can predict important properties of specific breast cancers."

Greiner's team created an algorithm that proved 93 per cent accurate in predicting the estrogen receptor status of tumours. To do this, they relied on data gathered from 176 frozen tumour samples stored at the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Tumor Bank at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton.

The same algorithm was later tested on other data sets available online, with similar success. The results were cross-checked with existing tests done by pathologists using traditional estrogen-receptor testing.

"Essentially, we've identified something inexpensive and simple that could replace receptor testing done in a clinical lab," said co-author John Mackey, director of Cross Cancer Institute Clinical Trials Unit, Alberta Health Services. "This is a new way of sifting through thousands of signals and pulling out the wheat from the chaff. In principle, this could be applied to other biomarkers and distil data down into something that a clinician can use."

Mackey, who is also a professor of medical oncology with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, said the technique is poised to take advantage of new gene-sequencing technologies, or genomics, which aims to understand the inner workings of cancer cells with a goal of tailoring treatments for individual patients.

It's still premature to consider the algorithm as a replacement for traditional lab tests, but that could change as new technologies become more affordable, perhaps in five to eight years.

"We're not there yet, but at some point it's going to be cheaper to take a tumour and put it into the machine and get these thousands of signals about its biology than it is to do the increasing number of required tests using traditional techniques in a lab," Mackey said. "When those two lines intersect, we're going to switch to using the new technologies, and we will need algorithms like this to make sense of the data."

### The research team also included Meysam Bastani, Larissa Vos, Nasimeh Asgarian, Jean Deschenes and Kathryn Graham. Their findings were published Dec. 2 in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Prescription opioid abusers prefer to get high on oxycodone and hydrocodone

2013-12-03
Prescription opioid abusers prefer to get high on oxycodone and hydrocodone Researchers investigate factors that influence the choice of abused drugs, reports PAIN® Philadelphia, December 2, 2013 – Prescription opioid abuse has reached epidemic levels in the ...

Rice U. study: It's not easy 'being green'

2013-12-03
Rice U. study: It's not easy 'being green' HOUSTON – (Dec. 2, 2013) – Think you don't recycle enough? You're not alone. However, people's ability to overcome self-doubt plays a critical role in how successfully they act in support of environmental issues, according to a new study ...

Information technologies could remove the 'shroud of secrecy' draped across private health care cost

2013-12-03
Information technologies could remove the 'shroud of secrecy' draped across private health care cost PRINCETON, NJ—The "shroud of secrecy" once draped across private health care service costs could be lifted ...

Kids whose bond with mother was disrupted early in life show changes in brain

2013-12-03
Kids whose bond with mother was disrupted early in life show changes in brain Children who experience profound neglect have been found to be more prone to a behavior known as "indiscriminate friendliness," characterized by an inappropriate willingness ...

UCSB researcher shows microplastic transfers chemicals, impacting health

2013-12-03
UCSB researcher shows microplastic transfers chemicals, impacting health Study demonstrates plastic ingestion delivers pollutants and additives into animal tissue (Santa Barbara, Calif.) — With global production of plastic exceeding 280 metric ...

Bronchial thermoplasty shows long-term effectiveness for asthma

2013-12-03
Bronchial thermoplasty shows long-term effectiveness for asthma Data show improvements maintained for 5 years after procedure DENVER – The beneficial effects of bronchial thermoplasty, a non-pharmacologic treatment for asthma, last at least five years, ...

Integrated pest managment techniques can help manage the Bagrada bug

2013-12-03
Integrated pest managment techniques can help manage the Bagrada bug The Bagrada bug, an invasive stink bug, was discovered in the western hemisphere in 2008 near Los Angeles, CA, presumably introduced via container shipments arriving at the Port of ...

A new weapon in the war against superbugs

2013-12-03
A new weapon in the war against superbugs Tel Aviv University researchers find a protein that viruses use to kill bacteria In the arms race between bacteria and modern medicine, bacteria have gained an edge. In recent decades, bacterial resistance to ...

Energy drinks plus alcohol pose a public health threat

2013-12-03
Energy drinks plus alcohol pose a public health threat ANN ARBOR—Mixing energy drinks with alcohol is riskier than just drinking alcohol alone, according to a new study that examines the impact of a growing trend among young adults. Published in the current issue ...

A living desert underground

2013-12-03
A living desert underground In the perpetual darkness of a limestone cave, UA researchers have discovered a surprisingly diverse ecosystem of microbes eking out a living from not much more than drip water, rock and air Hidden underneath the hilly grasslands studded ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet

Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy

Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab

Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy

Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues

New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children

Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer

It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections

From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine

Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023

No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults

NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders

Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds

University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant

Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research

Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma

Genetic ancestry linked to risk of severe dengue

Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species

Early birds get the burn: Monash study finds early bedtimes associated with more physical activity

Groundbreaking analysis provides day-by-day insight into prehistoric plankton’s capacity for change

Southern Ocean saltier, hotter and losing ice fast as decades-long trend unexpectedly reverses

Human fishing reshaped Caribbean reef food webs, 7000-year old exposed fossilized reefs reveal

Killer whales, kind gestures: Orcas offer food to humans in the wild

Hurricane ecology research reveals critical vulnerabilities of coastal ecosystems

Montana State geologist’s Antarctic research focuses on accumulations of rare earth elements

Groundbreaking cancer therapy clinical trial with US Department of Energy’s accelerator-produced actinium-225 set to begin this summer

Tens of thousands of heart attacks and strokes could be avoided each year if cholesterol-lowering drugs were used according to guidelines

Leading cancer and metabolic disease expert Michael Karin joins Sanford Burnham Prebys

Low-intensity brain stimulation may restore neuron health in Alzheimer's disease

[Press-News.org] Researchers turn to machines to identify breast cancer type