Surprisingly, the internet has not just become the go-to tool for research data, but has also been a veritable source of information available for analysis where Microsoft finds clues for cancer from people sharing their personal information online via blogs, self-help sites and even feedback websites where people share their symptom, photos and any available information that people could give away their health profiles.
Microsoft finds clues for cancer that could help provide diagnosis
The study group composed of Microsoft researchers Dr. Ryen White and Dr. Eric Horvitz and Columbia University graduate student John Paparrizos said they hope that this innovative approach could help provide early detection of cancer and other deadly diseases by means of analyzing medical-related information shared on the internet.
“We asked ourselves, ‘If we heard the whispers of people online, would it provide strong evidence or a clue that something’s going on?’” Dr. Horvitz said.
They initially focused their searches using Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, and focused their efforts on a patient diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and traced back entries online by the patient to see if the patient was experiencing symptoms prior to diagnosis, with the belief that early search queries can trigger warning signs of an impending disease.
Although pancreatic survival rates for cancer reaching the five-year timeframe are low, early detection of the disease can prolong life and early screening can increase the survival rate by about 5 to 7 percent.
Their study was recently published in the Journal of Oncology Practice.
The researchers claimed that there’s no need for people to worry about their accounts or data being compromised because the tests were anonymized that prevented them from using any usernames or identifying markers same with the ones conducting the research.
The researchers said they expect a lot of mixed reaction regarding this study, especially since this is still a relatively new research territory and could not specifically point out what could happen next, but hope that this will open the door to explore ways of diagnosing diseases before it takes its toll on the body.
“I think the mainstream medical literature has been resistant to these kinds of studies and this kind of data,” Dr. Horvitz said. “We’re hoping that this stimulates quite a bit of interesting conversation.”
As Microsoft finds clues for cancer symptoms before detection and diagnosis, it may hopefully find its true potential that could benefit the medical community.
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