Zhou gets $2.9M to develop a system to predict outcomes in multiple myeloma

By combining data from MRI scans and clinical tests, University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center researcher Chuan Zhou, Ph.D., will develop a decision support tool to tailor treatment for individual patients with multiple myeloma. It’s a cancer that’s considered incurable, with survival ranging from less than a year to more than a decade, depending on the extent and aggressiveness of the tumors.

Zhou, research professor of radiology at Michigan Medicine, received $2.9 million from the National Cancer Institute for the project.

Currently, oncologists use magnetic resonance imaging to track how much multiple myeloma has invaded the bone marrow. Zhou wants to combine a series of MR imaging over time along with clinical laboratory tests to paint a fuller picture of how well a patient’s treatment regimen is working. He will use artificial intelligence techniques to analyze patient images and clinical factors to create a decision support system. Once developed, he will test the system on data from patients at multiple institutions to determine how well it predicts multiple myeloma recurrence at an early point during treatment.

“We want to create a model that predicts early on how well patients will respond to their treatment. This kind of predictive tool will make treatment decisions easier throughout the course of disease, including early diagnosis, assessing the tumor burden, optimizing treatment regimens, and monitoring for disease progression, regression or recurrence,” Zhou said. “This is how we deliver the promise of precision medicine for patients with multiple myeloma.”

Grant: National Cancer Institute 1R01CA278898-01A1