Utilising the power of AI to identify patients more at risk of developing skin cancer
A Consultant Dermatologist at NNUH has teamed up with computer scientists at UEA to utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify medications that could increase the risk of sun burn and skin cancer.
Dr Zoe Venables, who is also a Clinical Associate Professor at our hospital, has received a British Skin Foundation Young Investigator Award to develop her research which will analyse the anonymised prescription data of more than a million patient records.
The national study, which is being led by Dr Venables and supported by Prof Wenjia Wang, professor of AI at the School of Computer Sciences and Dr Kathryn Richardson, Senior Statistician at the University of East Anglia, aims to use Artificial Intelligence to investigate possible links between certain prescription medications and rising rates of skin cancer.
Dr Venables said: “We know that some medications increase photosensitivity which make it more likely to get sun burnt and in turn this could lead to an increase in the likelihood of skin cancer. There is good evidence to suggest that a blood pressure medication that increases the risk of sun burn and in turn skin cancer risk and there are many other drugs that cause photosensitivity. However, it is difficult to give a definitive answer and this project will help to provide a more informed discussion with patients as to whether certain medicines may pose an increased risk.”
Our ageing population, changing sun exposure behaviours and improvements to cancer registration are believed to be the reasons why there has been a 26% increase in skin cancer cases over a six year period.
Dr Venables will use AI to help analyse the prescriptions of over a million patients to see if there’s any connection with certain drugs and skin cancer.
It is not the only use of AI in the field of dermatology – other research projects are also using the technology to spot cancer risks from images of people’s moles.
She said: “AI is a fantastic tool to use with big datasets and this work could help us identify future studies that are focused on specific drugs. This is the first time we have done something like this and the results could help us to inform patients about the risks and to take extra precautions in the sun or switch to medications that are less risky. Additionally, we may find a medication that helps protect against skin cancer that we didn’t know about.”
Dr Venables is one of eight Clinical Associate Professors (CAP) to receive joint funding from NNUH and UEA to develop medical research with partners across Norwich Research Park. A second cohort of the CAP programme is due to run this year.
Dr Venables has published 22 papers since October 2022, including publications on skin cancer epidemiology and development of a skin cancer risk calculator, and has been successful with seven funding applications to progress her research.