Baheya Foundation – an Egyptian non-profit that provides breast cancer treatment free of charge – has partnered with GE Healthcare to explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve outcomes in patients.

According to GE Healthcare, it is working with the foundation and its hospital to “develop and validate the use of AI to assess and predict the response of neoadjuvant therapy” in locally advanced breast cancer.

Usually the first step in treatment, neoadjuvant therapy is used to help shrink tumours, prior to main treatment such as surgery. Examples include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy.

“We are enthusiastic about how this research collaboration has the potential to transform future outcomes for breast cancer patients,” said Agnes Berzsenyi, President and CEO of Women’s Health at GE Healthcare. “By combining our expertise with that of the Baheya Foundation and layering it with AI, we are one step closer to delivering on our mission of increasing early detection and helping to save more lives.” 

THE LARGER CONTEXT

With a number of diagnostic imaging technologies used to predict and assess a patient’s response to neoadjuvant therapy, AI reportedly has the potential to offer clinicians an earlier indication of how well a patient is responding to the treatment. This allows a timely change of treatment, with “a reduction in unnecessary toxicity to the patient and a lower treatment cost for the hospital,” explained GE Healthcare. 

The company added that the project will focus on the use of AI in contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM).

WHY IT MATTERS

Baheya Foundation confirmed that, as it “grows its operations and expands the number of patients it serves,” its new collaboration with GE Healthcare aims to “expand clinical treatment options and further improve patient outcomes and experiences.”

Founded in 2015, Baheya Foundation was formed in tribute to Baheya Wahbi, who – when diagnosed with breast cancer herself over 20 years ago – was not able to find treatment in Egypt. Honouring her request prior to her passing, her family went on to set up the non-profit to ensure all women in Egypt, no matter their income level, had access to world-class cancer care.

Every month, Baheya Hospital manages around 7,000 early detection incidences of breast cancer, 1,500 chemotherapy sessions, 3,000 radiation therapy sessions, and 350 surgeries. A second hospital is planned to open in Cairo’s Sheikh Zayed City in 2023.

ON THE RECORD

“In addition to providing direct care to women, Baheya Foundation also conducts research to continually enhance the services it offers,” said Mohamed Emara, CEO of Baheya Hospital. “Baheya is [a] centre of excellence, providing [the] most advanced technology, [keeping] pace with global developments. [It is a] unique hospital in Egypt and [the rest of the] MENA region.”

Radio-diagnosis consultant Mohamed Gomaa, who is the hospital’s Head of Radiology, added: “As part of our commitment to ongoing research in this field, our collaboration with GE Healthcare seeks to deploy the power of AI combined with clinical experience to expand our knowledge of the treatment pathways for neoadjuvant therapy to improve outcomes for patients at Baheya and beyond.”