Prediction of Cranial Radiotherapy Treatment in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Patients Using Machine Learning: A Case Study at MAHAK Hospital

An Interpretable Machine Learning Framework for Rare Disease: A Case Study to Stratify Infection Risk in Pediatric Leukemia

Background: Datasets on rare diseases, like pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), have small sample sizes that hinder machine learning (ML). The objective was to develop an interpretable ML framework to elucidate actionable insights from small tabular rare disease datasets. Methods: The comprehensive framework employed optimized data imputation and sampling, supervised and unsupervised learning, and literature-based discovery (LBD). The framework was deployed to assess treatment-related infection in pediatric AML and ALL. Results: An interpretable decision tree classified the risk of infection as either "high risk" or "low risk" in pediatric ALL (n = 580) and AML (n = 132) with accuracy of ∼79%. Interpretable regression models predicted the discrete number of developed infections with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.26 for bacterial infections and an MAE of 1.29 for viral infections. Features that best explained the development of infection were the chemotherapy regimen, cancer cells in the central nervous system at initial diagnosis, chemotherapy course, leukemia type, Down syndrome, race, and National Cancer Institute risk classification. Finally, SemNet 2.0, an open-source LBD software that links relationships from 33+ million PubMed articles, identified additional features for the prediction of infection, like glucose, iron, neutropenia-reducing growth factors, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Conclusions: The developed ML framework enabled state-of-the-art, interpretable predictions using rare disease tabular datasets. ML model performance baselines were successfully produced to predict infection in pediatric AML and ALL.

Construction of machine learning-based models for cancer outcomes in low and lower-middle income countries: A scoping review

Background

The impact and utility of machine learning (ML)-based prediction tools for cancer outcomes including assistive diagnosis, risk stratification, and adjunctive decision-making have been largely described and realized in the high income and upper-middle-income countries. However, statistical projections have estimated higher cancer incidence and mortality risks in low and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs). Therefore, this review aimed to evaluate the utilization, model construction methods, and degree of implementation of ML-based models for cancer outcomes in LLMICs.

Methods

PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched and articles describing the use of ML-based models for cancer among local populations in LLMICs between 2002 and 2022 were included. A total of 140 articles from 22,516 citations that met the eligibility criteria were included in this study.

Results

ML-based models from LLMICs were often based on traditional ML algorithms than deep or deep hybrid learning. We found that the construction of ML-based models was skewed to particular LLMICs such as India, Iran, Pakistan, and Egypt with a paucity of applications in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, models for breast, head and neck, and brain cancer outcomes were frequently explored. Many models were deemed suboptimal according to the Prediction model Risk of Bias Assessment tool (PROBAST) due to sample size constraints and technical flaws in ML modeling even though their performance accuracy ranged from 0.65 to 1.00. While the development and internal validation were described for all models included (n=137), only 4.4% (6/137) have been validated in independent cohorts and 0.7% (1/137) have been assessed for clinical impact and efficacy.

Conclusion

Overall, the application of ML for modeling cancer outcomes in LLMICs is increasing. However, model development is largely unsatisfactory. We recommend model retraining using larger sample sizes, intensified external validation practices, and increased impact assessment studies using randomized controlled trial designs

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=308345, identifier CRD42022308345.

A Review of Artificial Intelligence Applications in Hematology Management: Current Practices and Future Prospects

Background

Machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) methods have recently garnered a great deal of attention in the field of cancer research by making a noticeable contribution to the growth of predictive medicine and modern oncological practices. Considerable focus has been particularly directed toward hematologic malignancies because of the complexity in detecting early symptoms. Many patients with blood cancer do not get properly diagnosed until their cancer has reached an advanced stage with limited treatment prospects. Hence, the state-of-the-art revolves around the latest artificial intelligence (AI) applications in hematology management.

Objective

This comprehensive review provides an in-depth analysis of the current AI practices in the field of hematology. Our objective is to explore the ML and DL applications in blood cancer research, with a special focus on the type of hematologic malignancies and the patient’s cancer stage to determine future research directions in blood cancer.

Methods

We searched a set of recognized databases (Scopus, Springer, and Web of Science) using a selected number of keywords. We included studies written in English and published between 2015 and 2021. For each study, we identified the ML and DL techniques used and highlighted the performance of each model.

Results

Using the aforementioned inclusion criteria, the search resulted in 567 papers, of which 144 were selected for review.

Conclusions

The current literature suggests that the application of AI in the field of hematology has generated impressive results in the screening, diagnosis, and treatment stages. Nevertheless, optimizing the patient’s pathway to treatment requires a prior prediction of the malignancy based on the patient’s symptoms or blood records, which is an area that has still not been properly investigated.

Development of Escherichia coli asparaginase II for the Treatment of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia: In Silico Reduction of asparaginase II Side Effects by a Novel Mutant (V27F)

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a common blood disease in children that is accountable for many deaths. Due to major improvements in treatment procedures in the past 50 years, the survivability of this disease has risen dramatically to about 90 percent today. L-asparaginase (ASNase) has been used to treat ALL. The glutaminase (GLNase) activity of this enzyme causes some side effects and is unnecessary for anticancer activity. This study investigated mutagenesis in Escherichia coli ASNase II to find a mutant with lower GLNase activity via molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Residues with low binding energy to asparagine (Asn) and high binding energy to glutamine (Gln) were chosen for mutagenesis. A mutant with low free binding energy to Gln was then selected for molecular docking and MD studies. The results showed that V27F is a good candidate for reducing GLNase activity and that it has little effect on enzyme ASNase activity. A simulation analysis showed that the V27F mutant was more stable than the WT ASNase and that mutagenesis was quite successful.