Concr trials digital twins for breast cancer outcome prediction

London, United Kingdom, 10 July 2024 – Concr has announced the initiation of patient recruitment for the VISION trial, an observational clinical study aimed at evaluating Concr’s therapeutic response predictive algorithm for biomarkers in chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments for early Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC).

The VISION trial (NCT06409221) is a retrospective study that focuses on women previously diagnosed with early TNBC who have undergone chemotherapy followed by curative surgery. Over a span of 24 months, the study will gather historical clinical data and cancer biopsy samples from approximately 200 women. The goal is to identify and validate biomarkers indicative of chemotherapy response, both with and without immunotherapy.

"Triple Negative Breast Cancer is a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, which is why Concr has prioritized this area for research," said Dr. Uzma Asghar, Concr’s Chief Scientific Officer and VISION Project Lead. "The VISION study will leverage clinical, genomic, and machine learning data to enable personalized treatment strategies. We believe this could represent the next generation of diagnostic platforms in cancer care."

This multi-centre study involves key sites in the UK and Australia and is supported by an Innovate UK Precision Medicine project grant (AI-VISION). Key collaborators include The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University. Patient recruitment is being conducted at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, a leading specialist cancer hospital that began participating as the primary clinical site last month.

“We are excited to advance this innovative project that employs AI to predict responses in women with Triple Negative Breast Cancer,” said Dr. Navita Somaiah, Principal Investigator and Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden. “Our hope is that this collaboration will ultimately guide treatment decisions for women suffering from this aggressive cancer subtype.”

Concr's FarrSight®-Twin technology will be used to analyze genomic data from diagnostic and surgical breast cancer samples, integrating these with whole-slide imaging and clinical data from trial participants. This technology will create a “digital twin” for each patient, helping to predict responses to various chemotherapy agents (such as anthracycline, taxanes, platinum, and anti-metabolites) and the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab. The FarrSight®-Twin technology will also explore the biological mechanisms behind different responses to treatment, which could lead to more effective ways to stratify and treat TNBC, a condition that disproportionately affects black women.

"While the role of AI in healthcare is often discussed in terms of its potential, we should not overlook the tangible benefits these tools can deliver today," commented Dr. Irina Babina, CEO of Concr. "The VISION study aims to test an innovative, individualized care approach designed by clinicians, which combines the latest technology with existing diagnostic tests to facilitate rapid adoption."

Concr is a techbio company that specializes in predictive modeling solutions to improve the efficacy of cancer drugs by accurately predicting patient responses. Their technology, based on decades of astrophysics research, is designed to make accurate predictions with minimal data, which is particularly useful in early-stage trials and rare cancers. Concr’s solutions have been validated through various collaborations and are trusted by researchers in industry, academia, and healthcare.

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust operates as a specialist cancer hospital and is ranked among the top cancer centers globally. The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is one of the world's leading cancer research organizations, known for its groundbreaking work in identifying cancer-related genes and developing targeted drugs. The Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University is a globally recognized center for research into the origins and evolution of the Universe, applying its advanced statistical techniques to fields including healthcare.