In a new paper published in Cell Reports Medicine, the UCL team outlines how they, in collaboration with a University of Cambridge team, developed a new type of treatment-predicting computer program that uses an individual’s detailed genetic fingerprint to explore which treatments, if any, may kill their cancer—especially when standard treatments have failed.

Computer models have long been used in cancer medicine, and more recently artificial intelligence has opened up a new avenue in this regard.

But the “black box” nature of “traditional” AI associated with large language models—where how they arrive at their conclusions is unclear—has prompted a degree of skepticism among the medical profession, the researchers said.