Zurich researchers develop method for more effective cancer therapy
Researchers in Switzerland have developed a method for predicting the reaction of individual cells to certain active substances.
This knowledge of the individual reaction of individual cells is a key to more effective cancer therapies, the federal technology institute ETH Zurich said in a statement on Wednesday.
The new method, which is based on machine learning, was presented by researchers from ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich in the scientific journal Nature Methods.
According to the paper, the predictions of the reactions of individual cells are made on the basis of cell samples. They ultimately indicate how well a patient’s cells respond to a drug.
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“Instead of relying on average values of an entire cell population, our method can precisely describe and even predict how individual cells react to a disturbance, such as by an active substance,” study leader Gunnar Rätsch from ETH Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich explained. This makes more precise therapies and diagnoses possible.
However, comprehensive clinical studies are still necessary before the method can be used in clinical practice. So far, the researchers have proven that the method provides accurate predictions. In addition, according to the university, the researchers were able to show that the cancer cells also work with other disease-causing cells. For example, in the autoimmune disease lupus erythematosus.
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