IIT-Madras develops AI tool to predict cancer-causing genes

Researchers have developed an Artificial Intelligence-based tool – ‘Pivot’ – that can predict cancer-causing genes in an individual, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-Madras) said here on Wednesday.

The tool would help devise personalized cancer treatment strategies, the institute said. Pivot, developed by IIT- Madras researchers, is designed to predict genes that are responsible for causing cancer, a press release said.

The prediction is based on a model that utilizes information on mutations, expression of genes, and copy number variation in genes and perturbations in the biological network due to an altered gene expression.

The research findings have been published in a peer-reviewed journal Frontier in Genetics (https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.854190).

According to World Health Organisation, cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide.