A new study suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) could be a big deal in diagnosing and treating a rare type of cancer. Scientists from the Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research discovered that AI was almost twice as accurate as the current method in figuring out how aggressive the cancer is from scans. This could help lots of patients by making treatments better and diagnosing the cancer faster.

The AI tech is already doing well in spotting breast cancers and cutting down treatment times. It can see details that our eyes can’t and analyze lots of data to find patterns and make predictions. This could lead to better personalized treatment for patients.

The researchers used a method called radiomics to find signs of retroperitoneal sarcoma, a type of cancer that grows in the back of the abdomen, in scans of 170 patients. The AI program was better at figuring out how aggressive the tumors were compared to the usual biopsies, which involve looking at a small part of the cancerous tissue under a microscope.

One patient, Tina McLaughlan, who had a sarcoma at the back of her abdomen, said that AI could help diagnose the cancer faster and give better treatment. With AI’s help, high-risk patients could get specific treatment that matches their cancer, while low-risk patients might not need extra treatments and follow-up scans.

The researchers are hopeful that this AI tech can be used worldwide to help people with sarcoma. The chance for personalized treatment plans and faster diagnosis is seen as a big step forward in cancer care.

Original news source: Scientists excited by AI tool that grades severity of rare cancer (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: Students will be divided into small groups. Each group is given a few minutes to read the article and then tasked with summarizing the news in their own words, focusing on the main points: the study’s finding, the type of cancer, AI’s role, and potential benefits for patients. Afterward, groups will share their summaries with the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Present students with a series of statements related to the article such as “AI will revolutionize cancer treatment” or “AI can be trusted to make medical decisions”. Students will stand in different areas of the room based on whether they agree, disagree, or are undecided. Ask volunteers to defend their positions, encouraging a class discussion on the topic.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary from the article on slips of paper (e.g., diagnose, treatment, aggressive, radiomics, sarcoma). Divide the class into two teams and have one member from each team draw the word for their team to guess within a time limit. Teams take turns and score points for each correct guess.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Ask students to think about the implications of AI in healthcare and how it compares to traditional methods on their own. Then, have them pair up to discuss their thoughts and questions about the article. After a few minutes, bring the class back together and have pairs share their insights with the rest of the class.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Students will work in pairs to discuss and write down their predictions about the future of AI in medicine based on information from the article. Encourage them to consider different aspects, such as diagnostic procedures, treatment personalization, and patient outcomes. Pairs will then share their predictions with the class, and these can be used as a starting point for a discussion on the future impact of AI on society.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What potential benefits does AI offer in diagnosing and treating a rare type of cancer according to the new study?
2. How much more accurate is AI compared to the current method in determining the aggressiveness of the cancer from scans?
3. In what ways has AI already shown success in the medical field, as mentioned in the article?
4. What is the name of the method the researchers used to detect signs of cancer in the scans?
5. What type of cancer were the scientists studying, and where in the body does it grow?
6. How did the AI program perform when compared to the usual biopsies?
7. What did patient Tina McLaughlan say about the potential benefits of AI in cancer treatment?
8. What are the researchers’ hopes for the future use of AI technology in cancer care?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A new study suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) could be a big deal in diagnosing and treating a rare type of cancer. Scientists from the Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research (1)______ that AI was almost twice as accurate as the (2)______ method in figuring out how aggressive the cancer is from scans. This could help lots of (3)______ by (4)______ treatments better and diagnosing the (5)______ faster.

The AI tech is already doing well in spotting breast cancers and cutting down treatment times. It can see (6)______ that our eyes can’t and analyze lots of data to find patterns and make predictions. This could lead to better personalized treatment for patients.

The researchers used a method (7)______ radiomics to find signs of (8)______ sarcoma, a type of cancer that (9)______ in the back of the abdomen, in scans of 170 patients. The AI (10)______ was better at figuring out how aggressive the tumors were compared to the usual biopsies, which (11)______ looking at a (12)______ part of the cancerous tissue under a microscope.

One patient, Tina McLaughlan, who had a sarcoma at the back of her abdomen, said that AI could help diagnose the cancer faster and give better (13)______. With AI’s help, high-risk patients could get specific treatment that matches their cancer, while low-risk patients might not need extra treatments and follow-up (14)______.

The researchers are hopeful that this AI tech can be used worldwide to help people with sarcoma. The (15)______ for (16)______ treatment plans and faster diagnosis is seen as a big step forward in cancer care.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is artificial intelligence, and can you think of other ways it helps in everyday life?
2. How would you feel if a doctor used AI to diagnose an illness you had?
3. Do you like the idea of machines helping doctors treat diseases? Why or why not?
4. Do you think AI could ever replace human doctors? Why do you think that?
5. Have you or someone you know ever had to wait a long time for a medical diagnosis? How do you think AI could have changed that experience?
6. What is personalized treatment, and why do you think it’s important in healthcare?
7. How do you think patients might feel about AI analyzing their medical scans?
8. Can you imagine any risks or downsides to using AI in medicine?
9. Do you think AI will make healthcare more or less expensive in the future? Why?
10. If you had the choice, would you prefer treatment suggestions from a doctor or an AI? Explain your choice.
11. How do you think AI could impact the jobs of people working in healthcare?
12. Do you think AI should be used for all types of medical conditions, or are there some it should not be used for?
13. What do you think about the idea of AI being “better” at certain tasks than humans? Is this a good or bad thing?
14. Do you think that access to AI technology will be equal around the world? Why or why not?
15. How do you think advancements in AI will change the way we live in the next 10 years?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. artificial
2. aggressive
3. radiomics
4. sarcoma
5. personalized
6. biopsies
7. abdomen
8. diagnose

Meanings:
(a) A type of cancer that grows in the body
(b) Using medical imaging to analyze tumors
(c) The part of the body between the chest and pelvis
(d) Not natural, made by humans
(e) Identify a disease or illness through examination
(f) Tailored to meet individual needs
(g) Taking a small part of tissue to examine
(h) Acting with force or intensity
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did the study find about AI in diagnosing and treating a rare type of cancer?
(a) AI was not accurate at all
(b) AI was slightly less accurate than the current method
(c) AI was only accurate in diagnosing but not in treating
(d) AI was almost twice as accurate as the current method

2. What type of cancer did the researchers focus on in the study?
(a) Retroperitoneal sarcoma
(b) Breast cancer
(c) Lung cancer
(d) Skin cancer

3. What method did the researchers use to find signs of retroperitoneal sarcoma in scans?
(a) Microscopy
(b) Radiomics
(c) Biopsy
(d) Ultrasound

4. How did the AI program perform compared to the usual biopsies in figuring out how aggressive the tumors were?
(a) Worse
(b) Better
(c) The same
(d) It didn’t make any difference

5. What did patient Tina McLaughlan say about the potential of AI in diagnosing and treating cancer?
(a) AI was not helpful at all
(b) AI was only helpful in diagnosing, not in treatment
(c) AI could help diagnose the cancer faster and give better treatment
(d) AI was not accurate in diagnosing the cancer

6. What could AI help with for high-risk patients?
(a) Specific treatment that matches their cancer
(b) No treatment at all
(c) Random treatments
(d) Only follow-up scans

7. What is the potential benefit of AI in cancer care, according to the researchers?
(a) Longer treatment times
(b) Less accurate diagnosis
(c) No benefits at all
(d) Personalized treatment plans and faster diagnosis

8. What is the overall view of the researchers about the AI tech for helping people with sarcoma?
(a) They don’t think it will be helpful
(b) They believe it will only work in a few cases
(c) They are hopeful it can be used worldwide
(d) They are not sure about its effectiveness

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. The AI tech is already being used to spot breast cancers and reduce treatment times.
2. The AI program uses a method called radiomics to analyze scans and find signs of retroperitoneal sarcoma, a type of cancer that does not grow in the back of the abdomen.
3. One patient, Tina McLaughlan, believes that AI could not help diagnose the cancer faster and provide better treatment.
4. The potential for personalized treatment plans and faster diagnosis is seen as a significant advancement in cancer care.
5. The AI program was worse at determining how aggressive the tumors were compared to the usual biopsies.
6. With AI’s help, high-risk patients could receive specific treatment that matches their cancer, while low-risk patients might not need extra treatments and follow-up scans.
7. The researchers are doubtful that this AI tech can be used worldwide to help people with sarcoma.
8. AI technology has been found to be almost twice as accurate as the current method in diagnosing the aggressiveness of a rare type of cancer.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What advantage does AI have over human eyes when it comes to diagnosing cancer?
2. How did the AI perform compared to the usual method of diagnosing the aggressiveness of retroperitoneal sarcoma?
3. What is radiomics, and how was it used in this study?
4. How might AI change the treatment process for patients with sarcoma, according to Tina McLaughlan’s experience?
5. Why are researchers excited about the potential of AI in cancer care worldwide?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What potential benefits does AI offer in diagnosing and treating a rare type of cancer according to the new study?
AI could make treatments better and diagnose cancer faster. It’s almost twice as accurate in figuring out how aggressive the cancer is from scans, which means doctors can create more personalized treatment plans for patients.

2. How much more accurate is AI compared to the current method in determining the aggressiveness of the cancer from scans?
AI was almost twice as accurate as the current method.

3. In what ways has AI already shown success in the medical field, as mentioned in the article?
AI has been successful in spotting breast cancers and reducing treatment times. It can see details that humans can’t and analyze data to find patterns and make predictions for better patient care.

4. What is the name of the method the researchers used to detect signs of cancer in the scans?
The method used is called radiomics.

5. What type of cancer were the scientists studying, and where in the body does it grow?
The scientists were studying retroperitoneal sarcoma, which is a type of cancer that grows in the back of the abdomen.

6. How did the AI program perform when compared to the usual biopsies?
The AI program was better at figuring out how aggressive the tumors were compared to the usual biopsies.

7. What did patient Tina McLaughlan say about the potential benefits of AI in cancer treatment?
Tina McLaughlan said that AI could help diagnose the cancer faster and provide better treatment options. It could help high-risk patients get the right treatment and low-risk patients might avoid unnecessary extra treatments and scans.

8. What are the researchers’ hopes for the future use of AI technology in cancer care?
The researchers hope that AI technology can be used worldwide to help people with sarcoma by enabling personalized treatment plans and faster diagnosis, which would be a big step forward in cancer care.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) discovered
(2) current
(3) patients
(4) making
(5) cancer
(6) details
(7) called
(8) retroperitoneal
(9) grows
(10) program
(11) involve
(12) small
(13) treatment
(14) scans
(15) chance
(16) personalized
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. artificial
Answer: (d) Not natural, made by humans

2. aggressive
Answer: (h) Acting with force or intensity

3. radiomics
Answer: (b) Using medical imaging to analyze tumors

4. sarcoma
Answer: (a) A type of cancer that grows in the body

5. personalized
Answer: (f) Tailored to meet individual needs

6. biopsies
Answer: (g) Taking a small part of tissue to examine

7. abdomen
Answer: (c) The part of the body between the chest and pelvis

8. diagnose
Answer: (e) Identify a disease or illness through examination
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did the study find about AI in diagnosing and treating a rare type of cancer?
Answer: (d) AI was almost twice as accurate as the current method

2. What type of cancer did the researchers focus on in the study?
Answer: (a) Retroperitoneal sarcoma

3. What method did the researchers use to find signs of retroperitoneal sarcoma in scans?
Answer: (b) Radiomics

4. How did the AI program perform compared to the usual biopsies in figuring out how aggressive the tumors were?
Answer: (b) Better

5. What did patient Tina McLaughlan say about the potential of AI in diagnosing and treating cancer?
Answer: (c) AI could help diagnose the cancer faster and give better treatment

6. What could AI help with for high-risk patients?
Answer: (a) Specific treatment that matches their cancer

7. What is the potential benefit of AI in cancer care, according to the researchers?
Answer: (d) Personalized treatment plans and faster diagnosis

8. What is the overall view of the researchers about the AI tech for helping people with sarcoma?
Answer: (c) They are hopeful it can be used worldwide
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. The AI tech is already being used to spot breast cancers and reduce treatment times. (Answer: True)
2. The AI program uses a method called radiomics to analyze scans and find signs of retroperitoneal sarcoma, a type of cancer that does not grow in the back of the abdomen. (Answer: False)
3. One patient, Tina McLaughlan, believes that AI could not help diagnose the cancer faster and provide better treatment. (Answer: False)
4. The potential for personalized treatment plans and faster diagnosis is seen as a significant advancement in cancer care. (Answer: True)
5. The AI program was worse at determining how aggressive the tumors were compared to the usual biopsies. (Answer: False)
6. With AI’s help, high-risk patients could receive specific treatment that matches their cancer, while low-risk patients might not need extra treatments and follow-up scans. (Answer: True)
7. The researchers are doubtful that this AI tech can be used worldwide to help people with sarcoma. (Answer: False)
8. AI technology has been found to be almost twice as accurate as the current method in diagnosing the aggressiveness of a rare type of cancer. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧