Scientists from Singapore’s ASTAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology and Singapore General Hospital have developed an AI-powered scoring system, the Tumour Immune Microenvironment Spatial (TIMES) score, to predict the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer. Featured on the cover of the scientific journal Nature, the TIMES score analyses the spatial distribution of immune cells and specific genes within liver tumour tissues, achieving an 82% accuracy rate in predicting recurrence risk.
The TIMES score’s ability to outperform existing staging methods allows doctors to identify patients likely to experience a recurrence soon after surgery, facilitating earlier and more targeted treatment. “In Singapore, up to 70% of liver cancer patients experience recurrence within five years,” said Joe Yeong, Principal Investigator at ASTAR IMCB. “TIMES offers a significant advancement in predicting these outcomes, enabling clinicians to intervene at the earliest possible stage.”
Denise Goh, Senior Research Officer at ASTAR IMCB, highlighted the transformative potential of the TIMES scoring system, stating, “By identifying patients at higher risk of relapse, we can proactively alter treatment strategies and monitoring, potentially saving more lives.”
The system was validated using samples from 231 patients across five hospitals and is now accessible through a free web portal for research use. Plans are underway to integrate TIMES into routine clinical workflows, with further validation studies scheduled at Singapore General Hospital and the National Cancer Centre Singapore later this year. Discussions with diagnostic partners aim to develop TIMES into a clinically approved diagnostic test kit.
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